It Was Always You
by WritingHealstheHeart
Summary: Spencer and Emily struggle to be in a relationship with all of the obstacles in their way.
1. Chapter 1

_Hi everyone! Thanks for taking the time to read my story. I always rate my stories M for violence, language, and sexual situations. I hope you enjoy – please leave comments xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

It was an unseasonably chilly August night, when the team arrived home from a particularly difficult case involving children. These types of cases always left a bigger impression on them. At Penelope's suggestion, Derek, Emily, J.J., and Spencer met her for dinner. At the diner, after they were all seated and placed their orders, Penelope giggled with excitement and held up something she found on the table.

"We are so playing!" she said opening the small blue and white box.

"What is that?" Derek asked looking skeptically at her.

"It's called Talk Topics. A lot of places are doing this now, so people put down their phones and actually talk to one another," she said pulling out a card.

"We talk to each other just fine," Derek said leaning back in his chair.

"Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud. This is a good one," she said reading the small blue card. "What is your guilty pressure?"

"Do we have to play?" Derek whined.

"Yes," Penelope said glaring at him. "I'll go first. My guilty pleasure is I actually enjoy watching golf. It's super peaceful and relaxing."

The group giggled lightly.

"I like to watch wrestling with Henry," J.J. said handing the card to Derek.

He rolled his eyes. "Before I say anything, if I play this stupid game, this is between the five of us only. I don't want to become the butt of all your jokes," he said.

"Why? You do it to me all the time," Spencer said matter-of-factly.

"Ouch," Emily said wincing at that statement.

Derek just looked at Spencer, who shrugged and took a sip of his tea.

"Alright, fine. My guilty pleasure is that … I … sometimes … watch," he looked down completely embarrassed.

"Oh, come on! Quit stalling and spit it out!" Penelope said rolling her eyes.

"I sometimes watch Say Yes to the Dress," he said covering his face.

Everyone busted out laughing. He tossed the card to Spencer, who was still laughing at Derek's admission.

"My sisters got me into it," he said trying to save face.

"Sure," Emily teased.

"I want to know more about that," J.J. said. Her face red from laughter.

"Shut up, Reid your turn," he said.

"Uh, I guess I like to listen to pop music," he said shrugging. He didn't feel as embarrassed as he thought he would.

"Name someone specifically," Penelope said.

"Ummm, Maroon 5," he said blushing a bit at the giggles. He quickly handed the card to Emily.

"I actually love Maroon 5," she said to him as she took the card. "My guilty pleasure is …" she looked up at the ceiling a moment thinking. "that I sleep with a teddy bear that I've had since I was a baby. Don't know why, but I love it and it comforts me."

Penelope passed the box to J.J, who pulled a card out and read it.

"What is your hidden talent? My hidden talent is I can pee, shower, and get dressed in less than five minutes," she said. "With kids, you don't get many luxuries, so I've learned to adapt."

Derek took the card and scratched his chin in thought.

"I can write poetry," he said handing the card to Spencer, who looked at him impressed.

Spencer swirled his straw around his glass in thought. Finally, he seemed to get an idea.

"So, you know how I learned to play keyboard a few years back?" Everyone nodded. "I progressed rather quickly and started to get bored, so I taught myself how to play guitar."

"Wow, Reid that's amazing. Learning guitar can be very difficult," Emily said as she took the card.

"Yea, to master the keyboard and pick up the guitar on your own, that is impressive," J.J. agreed.

"Y'all are talking to a genius. Are you really that surprised?" Derek asked.

There was a slight murmur of agreement as Emily stared at the card.

"Alright, Em, what's your hidden talent?" J.J. asked as she took a sip of her water.

"I am actually a really good singer," she said handing the card to Penelope.

"What?" J.J. said nearly choking on her water. "No way, I've heard you do karaoke …"

"Me too," Penelope said.

"Yes, you've heard me do karaoke. That doesn't mean I actually sang. It's not hard to sound shitty," she defended.

"Alright, prove it. Sing right now," Penelope demanded.

"What? No way!" Emily said tossing the card at her.

"Why not?" Penelope said flinching as the card bounced off her arm.

"First of all, we are in the middle of a diner. I'm not singing for a crowd of people. Second, that is not part of the game. It doesn't say we have to show our hidden talents. Third, I don't sing for anyone, hence the hidden part. I did it once when I was a child and I'll never do it again," she said clearly bruised by that memory.

"Fine, but one day I'm going to hear you sing," Penelope said pointing her finger at her.

"Good luck with that," Emily said.

Penelope picked up the card and handed it to J.J.

"My hidden talent is that I can dance. I don't do it often, but when I do, I rock that dance floor," she said grinning.

"Next time we go dancing, I want to see some of that mama," Derek said winking at her.

"I don't know if you can handle it, chocolate thunder," Penelope flirted.

"Alright, alright, pick a card," J.J. said handing Derek the box.

He pulled out a card and got a huge grin on his face. "Did I mention how much I like this game?" Everyone looked at him suspiciously. "Do you have a crush? If so, who?"

"It does not say that!" J.J. said grabbing the card from his hands.

She read over the card and frowned. "It does say that, minus the who part," she said giving him the card back.

"Yea, so I spiced it up a bit. Sue me. Don't pick a celebrity either, that's too easy. It's got to be someone you actually like, that you could actually date," Derek said.

"I quit," Emily and Spencer both said at the same time.

They looked at each other, while the others looked at them.

"Oh, come on. Look I'll start. So, there's this girl, she's a doctor. I see her often on my way to work. Sometimes we talk to one another while we wait for our morning coffee. She's gorgeous, with this soft almost creamy black skin. Her eyes are this dazzling brown. I hope one day to ask her out," Derek said handing Spencer the card.

"Wow, Derek, that was actually real. She sounds amazing. Do you know her name?" J.J. asked.

"Savannah. She _is_ amazing," he replied with a little sparkle in his eyes.

"Spence, what about you?" J.J. said looking at him.

He frowned at all eyes on him as his head dropped and he fidgeted with his napkin.

"You do like someone," Penelope said noticing the shyness.

He nodded slowly, still staring at the napkin in front of him.

"Well, who?" J.J. asked.

"Can't it just be enough that I said yes?" he muttered.

"I told you about Savannah," Derek said arms crossed across his chest.

"You also added that to the card. It's not in the initial question, therefore it should be optional," Spencer said adamantly. "Besides, nobody asked. You offered that information up freely."

"It must be someone we know, otherwise you wouldn't fight so hard to keep it a secret," Derek said as a grin stretched across his face.

"Her name is Ann," he said before handing the card to Emily.

"No, it's not. You just made that up," Derek said.

"Morgan, can we just drop it," Spencer said with a hint of anger.

"Let him go," J.J. said softly, seeing the embarrassment on her friend's face.

"If we know who she is, maybe we can help you out," Derek said trying to be more brotherly.

Spencer dropped his napkin onto the table and looked at Derek.

"I don't need anyone's help, because I'm not pursuing it," he said irritated.

"Why?" Garcia asked, with her normal concerned sweetness.

He glanced at Emily, who was watching him with a mixture of curiosity and empathy. He looked back down at his plate.

"Look, I appreciate the offer, but the fact stands that she is not interested in me and I am not going to embarrass myself by asking her out," he said. "Now, please, drop it."

His tone was enough to leave an awkward silence at the table. Suddenly, the waitress appeared and started handing out everyone's entrée. The game was forgotten and everyone broke off into mini conversations while they ate.

(xxxxx)

Emily had offered to drive Spencer home. He had remained quiet the rest of the meal and she felt sorry for him. She knew Derek didn't mean to be overbearing, but at times he could get a little carried away.

Emily glanced over at Spencer and gave him a small empathetic smile, though he didn't see it as he stared out the window.

"Don't let Morgan's bark get you down," she said gently.

"I don't. It's just annoying sometimes. He acts as though I'm not capable of functioning," Spencer replied moodily.

"He knows you're capable. He … _we_ are all protective of you and sometimes that can come off wrong," Emily said.

"Why are you all so protective of me? I'm 36 years old. I think I've proven over the past eleven years that I'm more than capable of taking care of myself," he said offended, as he turned his head to look at her.

"Reid, no one thinks that you can't take care of yourself. Our protectiveness stems from the first day we met you. You are a rare human being and in your earlier year's people would take advantage of that. We formed a protective bond around you and that isn't something that just goes away," she tried to explain.

He shrugged and looked back out the window. Emily drove quietly for a few more minutes before turning into his apartment complex. She stopped the car and placed a hand on his knee to gain his attention. He looked at her confused.

"You are a great catch, Reid. You don't need anyone's help to tell that girl your feelings. She would be crazy to tell you no," she said smiling at him.

Spencer tried to hold back a smile, but it proved difficult. He nodded and opened the car door.

"Thank you for the ride," he said.

"No problem. See you tomorrow," she said.

Spencer shut the door and watched Emily drive away. She always seemed to understand him and knew the right things to say. That is why his heart had always been Emily's.


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry for the delay – I hit a writer's block. I don't want the story to progress too quickly, so I'm sort of stuck making the small moments._

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer and Emily sat in the car staring at the house they were watching. They had been sitting there for a little under 2 hours with no sign of the person of interest.

"I hate stakeouts. They are so boring," Emily said sighing.

"Yea, they can get a little dull," Spencer replied as he lifted himself off his propped up hand. "I could really use coffee."

"Me too," she said stifling a yawn. She reached out and put the radio on.

They sat quietly again listening to the music. As the song changed, Emily grinned.

"Maroon 5, there you go Reid," she said as he looked at her and laughed.

"This is a good one," he said as she turned it up another notch.

"Yea, I love this one," she agreed as they both lightly bobbed their head to the music. "This song actually reminds me a bit of us." Spencer shot her a confused look. "I mean, all of us, the team. I don't know it's stupid, but it does."

"I can see the relation," Spencer said.

" _My backs against the wall tonight. So, go ahead pull the trigger shoot the lights out. Go ahead pull the trigger shoot. I see the fear that's in your eyes. So, go ahead pull the trigger shoot the lights out. Go ahead pull the trigger shoot,"_ Emily sang at him, goofily.

He couldn't hold back the smile at her playfulness. Emily didn't act silly often, but he loved when she did. He decided to surprise her and join in on her silliness.

" _I got my hands up screaming, I got my hands up screeeeaming,"_ Spencer jumped in, with a high-pitched girl voice.

Emily and he started laughing hysterically at their singing. They couldn't even hear the song anymore as they cracked up. When they finally stopped laughing, Emily turned the radio back down slightly and wiped a tear from her eye.

"Well, it's safe to say that we aren't the next Sonny and Cher," she giggled.

"I'm certainly not, but you said you sing well," he said as he focused on the house again.

"I can," she replied.

"Why do you hide it then?" he asked curiously.

"It's a long story," she said frowning.

"We've been sitting her for 1 hour and 56 minutes, Emily. I think I have time to spare," he said with a sense of humor in his tone.

He glanced her way and did a double take. He saw the frown on her face and the distant look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me," he said as he looked away.

"It's ok, I just don't really talk about it much. It's not really a big thing," Emily said shrugging.

"Obviously it is to you. Don't belittle your feelings," Spencer said.

"No, I just mean, the story isn't really that dramatic. When I was 9 or 10, I had a group of girls in choir tell me that my voice made them sick and asked if I would keep it down. My friends said those girls were full of shit, but from that day forward I never sang for real. I always sound like crap on purpose. Can't make fun of me, if I start the joke," she said.

"I'm sorry. Kids can be really cruel. Believe me, I know more than anyone," he said.

They once again sat in silence, until Spencer broke the air.

"I hope someday maybe you'll feel safe enough to sing in front of me," he said softly.

"I trust you with my life Reid, but I don't think I'll ever be able to do that," she said smiling half-heartedly at him.

Spencer nodded as he looked back at the house. Suddenly, he saw their suspect walking out the front door.

"Em, look," he said.

Emily put her wrist to her mouth.

"He's exiting the building, let's go," she said into the com-link.

(xxxxx)

It turned out the man was their unsub and he immediately ran. Emily and Spencer were in the lead chasing the unsub through a preserve, as Derek and J.J. trailed behind. Emily felt the branches slapping her in the face as she ran through the row of trees, bushes, and other earthly items.

She could hear Spencer closely behind her as they neared the end of the preserve. They skidded to a stop in front of a small drop off that went into a rapidly moving river. They looked around the area with their guns held out in front of them. Emily stepped closer to the edge and peered around below.

"Where'd he go?" she asked as she tried to catch her breath.

"I dunno," Spencer said breathing heavily.

Suddenly, the sound of running feet filled the air. Emily and Spencer turned a second too late as the unsub slammed into Emily. They flew off the edge of the drop off, hitting the rushing waters hard.

"Emily!" Spencer shouted as he started running along the edge in the direction she was being pulled.

By this time, Derek and J.J. had arrived and saw the chaos. They both started following Spencer, while Derek handed J.J. his gun, ready to jump in after her. Before he had a chance to do so, Spencer suddenly leaped off the side into the river.

"Did he just …" J.J. trailed off in shock.

Spencer's head emerged from the cold water and he began swimming toward Emily and the unsub. The man kept grabbing her and pushing her under the water, but somehow, she always managed to free herself. He pushed himself until his muscles ached, but it was working as he closed the gap between them.

When Emily was shoved back under the water, Spencer threw his arm around the unsubs neck and began strangling him.

"Let her go," he said trying to cut off the man's oxygen.

The unsub let go of her and began flailing his arms to get Spencer to let him go. Emily popped up above the surface, coughing and gasping for air.

"Reid, help Prentiss. I got him," Derek said appearing next to him.

At some point, Spencer was unaware of, Derek had jumped into the water and caught up with them. Spencer let go of the unsub, while Derek quickly scooped up the practically unconscious man. Spencer reached out for Emily, who allowed him to put his hands around her waist and help her toward the river bank.

When they reached the bank, Spencer still helped Emily out of the water. She was a little wobbly on her feet, but seemed fine otherwise.

"Are you alright?" Spencer asked as he helped her sit down on a patch of grass.

"Yea, I'm good. Just need to catch my breath," she said panting.

"Put your hands on your head," Spencer said. "Putting them on your head increases the use of the diaphragm which allows more oxygen to enter."

Derek had dragged the unsub out of the water and slammed him down into the dirt. He quickly cuffed the man. By this time, the rest of the team, an ambulance, and the local PD arrived. They ran down the hill to help.

"You guys alright?" Hotch asked as the unsub walked past him.

"Yea, fine," Derek said.

"Prentiss, Reid?" Hotch said looking at the two, Emily still sitting in the grass.

They both nodded, before Hotch walked back up the hill.

"I'm going to need to change, my ass is beginning to chafe," Derek said as he wiggled in his jeans.

Spencer and Emily laughed, as Spencer held his hand out to help her up. She took it and stood. She gave him her thanks and they all walked off together.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you for the comments! They always make me smile and inspire me to keep writing, especially since I was very unsure of this story._

 _I forgot to mention the song in the last chapter was Maroon 5, Don't Shoot from their album V._

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer loosened his tie as he took a sip of his drink, while he listened to Derek and Penelope argue over the term hooked up. Penelope insisted that it only meant kissing, while Derek said it meant sleeping with someone.

Emily and J.J. listened with amusement at the two of them. They occasionally giggled at the responses, while Spencer seemed almost bored with what they were talking about.

"What about you, Reid? You've got my back on this," Derek said breaking him from his silence.

"Hmm?" he said sitting up in his chair a little taller.

"What do you think hooked up means?" Derek said.

"I think that if you have to use a loose term like hooked up, you probably didn't do either," he said.

Emily and J.J. both burst out laughing. Spencer turned red with embarrassment.

"Oh, my gosh, that was brilliantly said Spence," J.J. said.

"Really?" he said relaxing a bit.

"Absolutely. Those terms were created by boys who want to sound cool and experienced. If you can't even say I kissed her or I slept with her, then you probably aren't mature enough to be doing either," Emily said before sipping her drink.

"Thanks a lot Reid, way to ruin the game with your maturity," Derek teased. Everyone laughed. "Alright, Penelope how about you show me those secret moves of yours?" He said wiggling his eyebrows.

"Oh, chocolate dream, I don't know if you are ready for that hotness yet," she said flirtingly.

"Come on, don't make a man beg," he said holding out his hand.

"But I like it when you beg," she said seductively.

He glared at her and she sighed, grabbing his hand.

"Alright, you win. I'll dance," she said as they walked off to the dance floor together.

"Those two are something else," J.J. said as she twirled her straw around in her drink.

Spencer and Emily nodded their agreement.

"I'm going to go to the ladies room," J.J. said as she slipped out of her chair. "I'll be right back."

Spencer tipped his drink back as Emily sipped at hers. She couldn't help but notice how attractive Spencer looked that evening. His blue tie hung loosely around his neck, his white dress shirt was unbuttoned slightly. His hair was growing and now sat in a mess of curls slightly below his ears.

"Something wrong?" Spencer asked interrupting her thoughts.

Emily blinked rapidly and smiled.

"No, sorry. I was just thinking," she said shaking her head. "I think I'm going to go get more to drink. You want some more?" she said feeling flustered.

"No, I'm good," he replied.

Emily scurried off to the bar, leaving Spencer alone. She couldn't understand this feeling running through her. She paid the bartender and took her drink back to the table. J.J. was gathering up her things as Emily sat down.

"Where are you going?" Emily asked.

"I need to get home. Will's feeling a little left out, so I promised I wouldn't stay out late," she said.

After they said their goodbyes, Emily and Spencer sat in an unusually awkward silence. Emily turned her attention to the dance floor and found Derek and Penelope. She watched the two dance together and she smiled. Penelope was actually a great dancer, as she claimed.

"You seem like you want to dance," Spencer said making her turn toward him.

"Me? No, I'm good. I was just watching Morgan and Garcia. She is a good dancer," Emily replied.

"I'm not a good dancer, but I'll dance with you if you want," he said, surprising her.

She didn't think he drank much that night, but this was completely out of character for him. She had to admit the offer was intriguing. He took another drink and stood up walking over to her. He held out his hand and smiled down at her.

"Alright, Dr. Reid, you've got me curious," she said taking his hand and going out onto the dance floor.

They walked over to stand near Derek and Penelope who greeted them with excitement. Spencer mostly swayed and used his hands to spin, dip, or grip Emily. He never really danced per say, but Emily was having a great time. She was actually sad when it was time to go home.

After saying good bye to Derek and Penelope, Spencer stood with Emily in front of her car. She leaned against it and looked up at the cloudless sky.

"That was a lot of fun," she said smiling.

"Yea, it was," Spencer agreed as he looked up at the sky too.

"Thank you for asking me to dance," she said.

"The pleasure was all mine," he replied.

Emily had this startlingly overwhelming urge to kiss Spencer. She looked at him as he stared at the stars. She licked her lips as she pictured herself running her hands through his hair and kissing those soft pink lips. With that Spencer looked down and seemed surprised by her staring at him.

"So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" he said as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

Emily snapped out of her daze. "Yea, tomorrow," she agreed.

"Goodnight, Emily," Spencer said before he turned and walked off.

"Goodnight, Spencer," she said softly as she watched him walk away.

It was at this point, Emily realized she had fallen head over heels for her younger co-worker.

(xxxxx)

A few days later, Emily heard something that made her heart stop. She was sitting in the San Diego Police Department conference room, looking over photos with J.J. and Rossi, when Hotch entered the room.

"Have any of you heard from Morgan or Reid?" he asked with concern in his eyes.

They all shook their heads no. Derek and Spencer had been set to check out a suspicious person of interest, but had not returned in quite some time.

"I can't get either of them on their phones. It keeps going straight to voicemail," he said.

With that, they all jumped up and followed Hotch from the room. Not 20 minutes later, they were walking toward, what seemed to be a normal, suburban home. The SUV was not parked in front of the home.

J.J. and Rossi knocked on the front door, while Hotch and Emily made a lap around the house. By the time they reached the front, Rossi and J.J. had stepped away from the front door to look in the windows.

"No answer," Rossi said.

"Doesn't look like any sign of a struggle," J.J. said as she peered through the window.

Hotch pulled out his phone and tried calling their numbers again. Both numbers still went straight to voicemail. Emily looked around the neighborhood. Her heart pounding with adrenalin. What happened to them? Especially Spencer. She spotted a little girl, maybe 5 or 6, sitting on her porch watching them.

Emily slowly crossed the street. The little girl stared at her with no fear in her eyes. When Emily was within five feet of the porch she smiled and stopped walking.

"Hi, my name is Emily. What's your name?" she asked.

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," the girl replied.

"That is very good. Your mommy and daddy have taught you well. I work with the police officers and I just have a quick question for you. You don't have to answer if you don't want to," Emily said still smiling.

The little girl didn't say anything, but she still stood there, so Emily took her chances.

"Did you see a big black car in front of that house?" she said pointing across the street.

The little girl looked at the house, then at Emily, before slowly nodding.

"Did you see the big black car leave that house?"

The little girl nodded.

"Were they dressed like me?" she asked pointing to herself. "Or like my friends?" She pointed to the team. The little girl looked at her and then at the team. She nodded.

"The two men that went into that house, did they come back outside?" Emily asked.

Suddenly the door swung open and a woman charged out.

"Excuse me, who do you think you are talking to my child?" the lady snapped as she snatched her daughter up into her arms.

"Ma'am, my apologies, I am with the FBI. My name is Emily Prentiss. Your daughter may have witnessed two agents being kidnapped," Emily said as she held out her credentials.

The woman looked at Emily, then across the street at the team, then her daughter, before back at Emily.

"I always knew that man was creepy. He's always sneaking in and out of that house. I've seen him lurking the streets at night. One time I caught him peering into my garage. My husband threatened to kill him if he ever came near our house again. We had an alarm system installed after that," the lady explained.

"If you would be willing to talk with the police some more, there may be something you know about him that will help us find our agents," Emily said.

"I don't know how I could be of help," the woman said almost scared.

"Sometimes people have information they don't even realize is valuable," Emily said.

"Alright, I suppose I'd be willing to talk to someone. Does my daughter have to as well? She's only 5," the lady said glancing at her child.

"It might be helpful. She was the last known person to see them that we know of," Emily replied.

The little girl cupped her hand and said something to her mother. The woman's eyes got larger and she looked at Emily with concern in her eyes.

"She said the two men were sleeping in the trunk."

"Thank you for your help. I'll have an officer stop by shortly," Emily said as she ran off to the waiting group. "They've been taken. The little girl over there said she saw Morgan and Reid sleeping in the trunk."

"J.J. call Garcia and get an APB on the SUV, Dave head back to headquarters with J.J. update the police on the situation. Prentiss and I are going to search his home," Hotch said as they nodded at his orders.

With that, they all dispersed to search for their two missing agents.


	4. Chapter 4

_As always, thank you so much for the comments! Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer felt himself slam hard into something. He was drowsy and sweating profusely. When he tried to move, he found that he was restricted by something. The tight space was dark and had an odd carpeted floor. He felt movement behind him.

"Who is that?" he asked as he wiggled his fingers around and touched something.

"It's Morgan, quit touching my butt."

"Where are we?" Spencer asked still confused.

"I don't know. My head feels messed up. I can't seem to concentrate," Derek responded.

Spencer felt the same way. He decided to shut down some of his senses and see if he could focus on something. Clearly his sight was out of question and touch wasn't helping. He certainly wasn't willing to taste anything and the smell was too nauseating. So with that he shut his eyes, took a deep meditative breath, and listened to the sounds around him.

He heard a rhythmic sound. It was steady and changed its sound slightly on occasion. It was some type of machine. There was the change in sound. A small thump. Now a slightly louder thump. His eyes popped open as he realized where they were.

"We're in a car. In a trunk," Spencer said.

"How'd we end up in a trunk?" Derek asked.

"I don't remember. That's the part I'm trying to recall. What's the last memory you have?" Spencer said as he closed his eyes again and tried to pull up his memory.

"We were at work. Hotch asked us to go somewhere," Derek said slowly.

"Yea, yea. Uh, we were going to a person of interest's home," Spencer filled in.

"He wasn't just a person of interest. He was our unsub and he did something to us. I remember the door being unlocked. We walked in and it smelled weird," Derek responded.

"Whatever that smell was, that's what knocked us out," Spencer said.

"So, what do we do now?" Derek asked.

"I'm not sure. I have an idea, but it's risky," Spencer said.

"At this point, we need to try something or we're both dead," Derek stated.

(xxxxx)

Emily and Hotch stood on the porch of the house. They both unholstered their guns in case and prepared to enter the house. Hotch reached out and tried the door knob. It was locked. Using a move out of the Derek Morgan handbook, he took a few steps back before kicking the door furiously.

As soon as it swung open, they went inside. Immediately, they back peddled holding their breaths. They both felt lightheaded as they ran down the porch stairs.

"Well, we know how the unsub managed to subdue both Reid and Morgan," Emily said as she took deep breaths of the fresh air.

Hotch was on the phone with a hazmat team before Emily could finish her sentence.

(xxxxx)

"Not so loud," Derek snapped.

"Look, I'm doing the best I can. I told you this was risky," Spencer snapped back.

Spencer had turned himself around, now facing Morgan's back and was swinging both feet into the corner of the trunk where the taillights were. If he could break the light, someone driving behind them might notice and call for help.

It was difficult to kick in a confined space, not to mention he was tied up as well. He would give a few good kicks and then stop to listen if the unsub had heard the ruckus. Thankfully they could hear music playing and tried to time the kicks with the loudest parts of the songs.

Spencer gave another three kicks. He felt something give way.

"I think I'm getting it," he said excitedly.

"Keep kicking," Derek said.

Spencer waited until the song picked up again and gave three more kicks, as hard as he could. He heard a crack and felt his feet break through. As he tugged his feet back inside, sunlight poured into the trunk.

"Good job, Reid!" Derek said in a hushed voice.

Spencer rolled himself back over to face the trunk entrance. Once he did this, he pushed his feet back through the hole and began wiggling his feet, praying someone would see them. If not, when the unsub discovered what he did, they were surely going to die.

(xxxxx)

The hazmat team had arrived and started their search of the house. Outside, Emily and Hotch paced as they waited for information. Hotch's phone started ringing and he looked at Emily, who ran to his side.

"Go ahead J.J.," he said.

"We just got a call they found the SUV abandoned about 10 minutes from the unsubs home. No sign of Morgan or Reid," she said.

"Have Dave meet Prentiss there," Hotch instructed.

"What about the house?" Emily asked.

"It's going to take some time before we are cleared to enter. For now, you can be useful searching the car and surrounding area," he explained.

Emily nodded and jogged off.

(xxxxx)

"This doesn't seem to be working," Spencer sighed as his ankles grew tired of moving.

"I'd switch places with you if I could," Derek said.

"I'm tired," Spencer sighed.

He felt himself growing weaker. He was thirsty, hot, and lightheaded. He wondered if they were even on a road driven by others.

"I am too. Try to stay awake," Morgan practically slurred.

"I don't think I can," Spencer said as his eyes grew heavier.

"Reid?" Morgan mumbled.

Spencer didn't answer. He had fallen unconscious again. Not long after, Morgan succumbed to the darkness.

(xxxxx)

Rossi and Emily were peering into the SUV, trying to find any kind of evidence, but there was nothing to be found. They were both relieved that there was no sign of injury. Emily walked around to the back and peered into the trunk, when Rossi's phone went off.

"Hey Hotch, give us good news," he said putting him on speaker phone.

"SDPD just got a phone call about a black Cadillac Fleetwood on Fishers Pond Road. The caller said there was a pair of converse sneakers and a bloody ankle poking out where the taillight should be," Hotch told them.

Emily and Rossi looked at each other with a smile. _Spencer out smarted the unsub once again._

"Garcia is sending directions to your phones. We have an APB out on the car and all exits are being blocked. We believe he's heading to a secluded residency on that road owned by a family friend," Hotch said.

"We're on our way," Rossi said as they ran to their cars.

(xxxxx)

Derek woke up when the car stopped so abruptly that he hit his head on the back of the trunk, Spencer rolling into him.

"Reid?" he whispered. "Reid, can you hear me? Wake up."

Derek heard the car door open and he felt his heart start to race. He didn't know if he should act like he was unconscious or stay awake. He heard the crunch of gravel under the unsubs feet. Thankfully they grew faint, making him realize the unsub walked away.

"Reid, wake up," he said pushing himself into Spencer.

"Son of a bitch!"

Derek jumped at the shout from outside the trunk. The unsub had returned and he hadn't heard him. The sound of keys jingling was heard as the key was shoved into the lock. Derek shut his eyes and pretended to be unconscious.

"You mother fucker!" the man yelled as he grabbed Spencer and tugged him out of the trunk.

Derek heard a loud thump as Spencer's body hit the dirt. He felt the unsub dragging him toward the exit of the trunk when the sound of tires on gravel caused him to stop. The man let go of Derek and took off running.

"FBI, freeze!" Rossi shouted as he ran after the man.

He heard a stampede of feet running past the car. He rolled over to look out of the trunk and saw Emily making her way to him and Spencer.

"Prentiss, am I glad to see you," he said smiling at her.

"Are you alright?' she asked running toward the car.

"I'm alright," he said.

She leaned into the trunk and made quick on cutting him free. After a few moments, he felt his hands break out.

"Give me the knife, I'll finish my legs," he said. "Go check on Reid."

Emily handed him her knife and kneeled down. Spencer was face first in the dirt. His face covered by his hair that was soaking wet. She gently brushed his hair out of the way.

"Reid, can you hear me?" she asked as she pushed his hair off his face.

Derek climbed out of the trunk and dropped next to Emily. He was also soaked with sweat and seemed to be struggling to function. He began cutting Spencer free, while Emily tried to wake him. When his arms were freed, Emily rolled him onto his back. She began wiping the dirt off his face, when his eyes flickered open.

"Am I dead?" he asked hoarsely.

"No, you aren't dead," Emily said wiping more dirt off his cheek.

"That explains the aching," he replied. "Morgan?"

"I'm right here kid," Derek said trying to control his breathing.

"Water," Spencer said looking up at Emily.

She was using her face to shield the sun from his eyes. With that, the EMT's came into view as they raced toward Derek and Spencer.

"They're both dehydrated, they've inhaled an unknown toxin, and Dr. Reid has a few lacerations on his left ankle that may require stitches," Emily said to the EMT that bent down to help Spencer.

Emily waited patiently for them to get Spencer onto the stretcher. They wheeled him over to the ambulance and loaded him inside.

"Can I see him a minute before you go?" she asked.

"For a minute. I need to get with my driver and then we need to leave," the woman said.

Emily climbed inside and sat down next to Spencer. He looked over at her and smiled slightly. She glanced out the back of the ambulance and then back at Spencer. She slowly reached out and grabbed his hand.

There were so many things running through her mind. So many things she wanted to say to him. To kiss him, to tell him she loved him. To tell him that he scared her and she thought he was going to die. But she couldn't find her voice. She just stared at his half opened brown eyes and smiled close lipped at him.

"I'll see you at the hospital," she said.

He nodded as she let go of his hand and climbed out the back of the ambulance. By the time, she turned around he had fallen asleep again. Why was it so hard to tell him how she felt? Why was she so scared of what would happen?

She walked off to the car, climbed inside, and followed the ambulance to the nearest hospital. Here she would wait with the team, when it was time for a visit she would pretend they were just friends and coworkers. Nothing would change, she knew this. She knew it because her walls were too high that even she couldn't climb them or tear them down.


	5. Chapter 5

_As always, thank you so much for the comments! Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

It had been a week since the kidnapping. Emily did exactly as she imagined she would do. She kept her walls up and pretended things were as they normally were. She felt off all week. She was unusually quiet and distant from everyone.

They all noticed, especially Spencer. She told them everything was fine. That she just wasn't feeling all that well. Nothing to be concerned about. They didn't press her further, but she could feel them watching her often.

She was always great at holding things in. She spent her entire life pretending to be someone she wasn't. The life of a diplomat's daughter. She loved her team and they were the closest to the real her she could be, but now her fear of losing everything because her heart decided to change its course was overwhelming her.

It was Saturday night, October 31, Halloween Night. The team had gathered at Rossi's for his annual Eat, Drink, and Be Scary party. The house and the yard were eerily decorated with lights to match the feel. The food and drinks were themed appropriately. Outside a band played music and people danced together, while others gathered in groups to chat.

Emily went simple this year. She dressed as a Pirate Captain. Her leather pants tucked into her knee high boots. She wore a white blouse that had a large black and gold belt wrapped around her middle. Over top of that she wore a maroon suede jacket with black and gold trim. On her head sat a black cap with a giant gold feather poking out the side.

She helped herself to a drink and wandered through the backyard. She really wasn't in the mood to party, but nobody missed Rossi's parties. As she took a swig of her drink, a scary clown jumped out in front of her.

"Hey Reid," she said casually.

He lifted up the mask and frowned.

"Not even a little scared?" he said.

"Sorry," she replied.

"It's alright, I got Morgan and he screamed like a girl. So, nobody can really top that," he said grinning.

Emily smiled back at him, but he quickly frowned again.

"Em, are you alright? I know you said you haven't been feeling well, but … is something bothering you?" Spencer asked with concern in his eyes.

 _Yes, I'm in love with you and I can't tell you this because it'll ruin everything!_

"I'm alright, Reid. I've had trouble sleeping this week, so I'm a little run down," she lied.

He eyed her suspiciously. "Why aren't you sleeping well?"

"I don't know. I just can't," she said finishing off her drink. "I'm going to go refill. You want anything?"

Spencer shook his head no as Emily walked off. He watched her wander off. She was lying to him. He knew her tell signs and they were all there. Avoidance, nail biting, and drinking. She usually opened to him. He wondered why she was pushing him away.

(xxxxx)

About two hours later, Spencer was talking to a few people when Emily came rushing over to him. She grabbed his arm and smiled at the people he was talking to.

"I need to borrow him," she said dragging him off.

Spencer looked at her and then back at the others apologetically. Emily kept pulling him towards the group of dancers near the band.

"Emily?" he said questioningly.

"I need someone to dance with," she said as she threw her arms around his neck.

She started dancing against him in a way that caught him completely off guard. He looked around at everyone else. Nobody was paying any mind to Emily's grinding against him.

"Are you going to dance?" she asked him.

"I don't dance," he said self-consciously.

"All you have to do is move your hips," she said placing her hands on him, trying to move him.

"If only it was that simple," he replied.

"It is that simple," Emily said. "Don't over think it. Just enjoy it," she said leaning in and whispering into his ear.

Spencer felt a shiver run up his spine. She was incredibly close to him and while he liked it, he worried about her sobriety.

"How much did you have to drink?" he asked.

"Enough to gain confidence, but not enough to not know what I'm doing," she said.

With that she leaned in and placed a kiss to his lips. She pulled back for a moment to look into his shocked eyes that were staring at her intently. Since he didn't say anything or run, she leaned in again and slightly opened her mouth to take his top lip gently between her lips.

For a moment, he forgot where they were and he responded by placing his hands on her neck and into her hair as he moved his mouth with hers. Her lips were soft and warm. He felt himself melting into her, when the taste of her alcohol coated tongue broke his spell.

"Em, no. Stop. We can't," he said pushing her back with his hands on her shoulders.

Emily's eyes looked pained and it killed him, but she was drunk and would regret this later. Without a word, Emily jogged off. Spencer followed her as she ran around the side of the house, into the dark garden where she dropped onto the little bench.

The strong and always poised Emily began to cry. Not just a few tears, she was sobbing as she leaned into her hands. She felt hands on her back and jumped a bit.

"Emily, talk to me, please," Spencer said.

He had never seen her so broken before. She never cried and now here she sat distraught and he didn't know how to help her.

"There's nothing to talk about. Please leave me alone," she said ashamed and heartbroken.

"No, I'm not leaving you. Something is bothering you and I can't just let you walk away from it again. What is going on? You've been off all week and tonight you get drunk and kiss me. That won't take away whatever pain you are experiencing," he said kneeling down in front of her.

She started to laugh as tears poured from her eyes. He looked at her quizzically, as if she'd suddenly gone insane.

"It's exactly what would stop my pain!" she said jumping up from the bench.

Spencer stood up too, in case she tried to run again.

"Emily, I may not have a lot of experience with women, but I can assure you, trying to make out with me when you are drunk is not going to help. Besides the fact that I have feelings too. I don't want to be used to fulfill whatever you're trying to hide," Spencer said, almost angrily.

"Used? Used! You think I'm using you?" Emily snapped.

"Well, what would you call it?" he asked as she paced.

"You know, for a genius you can be a dumb ass sometimes," she said as a fresh set of tears poured down her angry face.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, I'm not using you to hide from something. I'm trying to tell you what's been wrong with me without completely destroying my entire life," Emily cried.

"What would completely destroy your life?" Spencer said moving closer to her.

"It doesn't matter Spencer. I already got my answer and thankfully, you are clueless," she said, her voice dropping sadly.

"I _am_ clueless. I'm sorry, I want to help you and understand you, but I don't. Please just tell me," he said reaching out for her.

She took a step back when his hands reached for her. She saw the pained expression on his face.

"Whatever I tell you at this point is useless. You'd only hear it coming from a drunk and brush it aside like you did with the kiss," she said turning her back to him.

"Emily, that was the right thing to do. I can't let you do something you would regret tomorrow," Spencer said, unsure why that upset her so much. He was being a good guy. A good friend.

"The only thing I regret is allowing myself that moment of vulnerability and it being quickly squashed," she said as a fresh set of tears dripped from her eyes.

"Is all of this about the kiss?" he said furrowing his brows.

"I took a chance and not only did I get rejected, but I get accused of using you. We've been best friends for years and you think that much of me," she said as her voice quivered.

Spencer stood in stunned silence. He didn't know what to say. Was she actually telling him that she liked him? That she chose to kiss him?

"I don't understand … you wanted to do that? But why?" he said looking down at his converse sneakers, trying to make sense of what she was telling him.

"I would think that answer would've been obvious," she muttered.

"Emily, I am probably about to embarrass myself here. This is new to me and I tend to misread situations like this, but … do you," he swallowed hard as his heart raced nervously. "Do you like me?"

Emily stayed facing away from him. Her body curled into itself.

"It doesn't matter," she whispered. "I already know how you feel."

Spencer stepped forward and placed his hand on her shoulder. She flinched, but he didn't let her shrug him off this time.

"You don't know how I feel," he said. "I would love nothing more than to hold you in my arms, to kiss you until we were breathless."

Emily turned to look at him. "But?"

"But we work together in a dangerous and demanding job. That complicates things. I also couldn't bear it if I let you in and you changed your mind," he said keeping contact with her eyes.

"What makes you think I would change my mind?" Emily said, confusion written on her face.

"Because, you'll realize that I'm the same dorky and awkward man you've known for years and you'll reach for something higher. You, Emily, are brilliant and strong and gorgeous. Men constantly throw themselves at you. I can't give you anything they can," he said.

"Look, I know your entire life people have trained you to think that you aren't worthy of anything, but they are dead wrong Spencer. You are so damn special that finding someone as amazing as you, is like finding a diamond amongst a pile of rocks.

I'm not sure when my heart changed from loving you as a friend, to loving you as something more, but I am thrilled by it. Actually, excited about the prospect of pursuing it with you. You are smart, compassionate, stronger than you believe, and so incredibly sexy I sometimes get distracted," Emily said as she ran her hand up his arm.

Spencer seemed at a loss for words. As Emily's hand ran across his cheek, he tilted his head gently into it and closed his eyes.

"I want to Emily, I do, but I'm scared," he said opening his eyes.

"I am too," she said moving closer. "I don't want to lose what we have, but I also don't want to ignore what my heart is telling me."

Spencer seemed to be thinking it over. She could tell he was having an internal debate.

"What if, for now, we just let it take its course. We don't tell anyone. We just keep it between us and we see what happens," she said gently.

He continued to study her eyes, making her a bit self-conscious.

"Ok, but promise me something, please," he said. Emily looked at him expectantly. "If we can't make it work, we go back to being friends. Just like we were. No weirdness. No animosity. Everything is forgotten and we pretend nothing ever happened."

"Deal," Emily said holding out her hand.

Spencer looked down at her hand and grabbed it, but pulled her into his body, wrapping his arms around her instead. He pressed his lips to hers and kissed her as he'd always wanted to. Passionately and desperately.

Their tongues battling one another as they held each other as close as possible. Eventually they both broke away breathless. Their foreheads pressed against one another.

"So, now what," Emily said grinning as she played with the button on his costume.

"I don't know," he shrugged.

"Well, we could leave and go back to my place. Make out like we're teenagers again," she said flirtingly.

"You're riding with me though. You've had a lot to drink and it'll make for a perfect excuse for us to leave together," he said smiling at her.

"So, smart," she said giving him a quick kiss.

The two of them walked back toward the house to say their goodbyes. Emily acted up her drunkenness, way more than she was. Everyone bought it.


	6. Chapter 6

_As always, thank you so much for the comments! Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

The following day Spencer nervously walked into work. Last night was incredible and seemed like a dream. But dreams end. Spencer had driven Emily home as promised, but they never made it inside. They just made out in the car for about an hour before Spencer decided it was time to call it a night.

He went to sleep happier than he could remember. When he awoke the next morning, it had all sunk in. Emily had been drunk last night. Despite the fact that she claimed to be sober enough to know what she was doing, Spencer now doubted it. He would walk into work, she would tell him last night was a mistake and he'd play it off like it was no big deal.

He walked into the bullpen nervously. Emily was already at her desk working on something diligently. She glanced up at him and offered a friendly smile, before going back to work. Spencer's heart dropped. Just as he suspected. He was about to sit down at his desk, when Hotch called them to meet in the conference room.

Spencer walked into the room and sat down. His heart sank when Emily chose a seat across from him, rather than next to him. He felt devastated. He knew he shouldn't get his hopes up. There was no way Emily would ever be more than a friend and he should've known better. He opened the file that Penelope placed in front of him.

He was determined to focus on the case and get Emily out of his mind. As Penelope debriefed the group, Spencer suddenly felt something on his leg. He furrowed his brow and looked up at Emily. She was looking at her tablet. Ever so slightly, she glanced up at him with a smirk on her lips. He felt her boot slide further up his pant leg.

His pulse was racing. He glanced around the table, but everyone was too intent looking at the pictures to notice his panicked and confused expression. It was an odd sensation to feel turned on by a foot rubbing his leg. As her boot grew dangerously close to his crotch, he slipped a hand under the table and pushed her foot away.

"Reid?"

Spencer's head snapped up to look at Hotch, who was staring at him.

"Hmm?" he said looking dazed.

"I asked what's the percentage of death between prostitutes and exotic dancers?" he asked again.

"Oh, uh, this year in New York alone there's been an increase of 10% in prostitution deaths. As best as it can be recorded, it seems 38% of victims are prostitutes, while only 18% are exotic dancers. You have to factor in missing persons, unknown homeless victims, and domestic homicides. This can change the numbers, but only slightly," Spencer rambled off.

Hotch nodded and glanced back at his tablet.

"Alright, wheels up in 30," he said as the team gathered up their belongings.

Spencer and Emily made sure to clean up as slow as possible. Once the room was empty, Spencer shot her a look.

"Are you trying to get us caught?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"Sorry, I just didn't get a chance to tell you that I enjoyed last night," she said. "I could see your brain working and I knew you were doubting me. You thought I was too drunk and would regret everything. I didn't know when we would get a chance to talk in privacy, so I gave you a little hint that I meant what I said last night."

"A little hint? Emily, getting me …" he stopped and glanced toward the door. Worried someone would walk by or be listening. "Getting me worked up, isn't little."

"Worked up in a good way or bad way," she asked flirtingly.

He sighed. "Do you really need to ask that?"

"No, I was just hoping you would play along. Look, I'll be professional from this point forward. As long as you realize that I'm still into you, then I can separate work and play," she said seriously.

"Ok," he said.

Emily smiled at him brightly before she turned and left the room. Spencer waited a few moments so it didn't look suspicious and because he couldn't seem to wipe the huge grin that spread across his face. She was still into him. Last night wasn't a dream and he wasn't going to wake up alone like usual. Emily really meant what she had said. He took a deep breath and exited the room.

(xxxxx)

"Are you guys willing to be undercover?" Hotch asked J.J. and Emily.

Spencer felt his body stiffen at the thought of Emily openly putting herself in danger. He wanted to protest and figure out a different way to catch their unsub, but this was part of the sacrifice he was making to be with Emily. He couldn't stop her from doing her job and she couldn't stop him.

Emily and J.J. both agreed to go undercover.

"Morgan you'll be J.J.'s backup, Reid you'll be with Prentiss. Dave and I will be stationed nearby listening to what's going on. We will have eyes and ears everywhere to keep you safe. If you feel something is off for any reason, say the code word and your backup will escort you off to safety," Hotch explained.

The girls nodded their understanding and were quickly ushered off to prepare for their roles.

(xxxxx)

Emily was finishing up her makeup when Spencer walked into the room. He closed the door behind himself and walked toward her. She looked at him through the reflection in the mirror. His worry was clear on his face.

"It'll be ok," she said softly.

"You can't promise that," he said stepping behind her.

"I trust you to watch over me and I trust the team. We've done this before and everything has turned out alright," she said turning to face him.

He looked at her with such concern, she reached out and placed her hand to his cheek. He closed his eyes at her touch and took in a deep breath. Suddenly they heard the sound of the door knob. Both of them jumped away from each other.

Spencer stepped back away from Emily, while she went back to finishing her makeup. Rossi walked in holding a small microphone. He held it out to Emily, she took it and began attaching it to her bra.

"I will be listening out for your signal along with Spencer. If you need either of us you know what to say," Rossi replied.

"Yes, 'let's get out of here' when I see the unsub and 'it's cold out here' if I need Reid," she confirmed.

Rossi nodded. "Alright, we'll meet you out front in five minutes. Finish up what you need." He turned and walked out of the room, leaving Emily and Spencer alone again.

"Well, how do I look?" Emily asked spinning for Spencer.

She wore a small tight red dress, her hair cascading down her back, and black heels that lengthened her legs.

"Despite the fact, that you are supposed to be dressed like a prostitute you look stunning," he said smiling at her.

"Shameless flatterer," Emily said blushing.

"You ready?" he asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she said before they walked out the door.

(xxxxx)

Emily was freezing as she walked onto the dimly lit street. She pulled the cheap faux fur coat around her body to keep warm. She stepped under a lamp post and waited for someone to pull up. Across the street, Spencer sat on a bench secretly watching her. He wore tattered and dirty jeans, a bulky yet torn jacket, his hair sticking out in all directions. To any passerby, he looked homeless so they paid no attention to him.

Emily wondered if J.J. was alright. So, far the night had been quiet. There were no suspicious cars, although a lot of skeevy looking men pulled up to find dates. Emily tried to stay out of the way of the other girls. They knew she was there to help and not steal their business, so they let her be.

The air was crisp and Emily looked up at the sky, wondering if it was going to snow. She heard a car approaching and watched as it drove toward her. It was a tan four-door sedan, very unsuspecting. The car stopped and the window rolled down.

Emily walked over to the car and leaned on the door. The man inside was twitchy and he wore large glasses that made his eyes seem bigger. He seemed very uneasy and nervous. This could be the unsub or just a new customer who was terrified of what he was about to do.

"Hey baby, you lookin' for something?" she purred.

"Umm, yes. I … I've never done this," the man said as he began to wring his hands together.

Emily quickly knew this was not the unsub.

"Well, sweetheart, I don't think you are ready for me yet. Let me get one of my girls to help you," she said stepping away.

Emily hated allowing these girls to do this, but she had to play the part. She whistled to one of the girls in a tight leopard dress. Her milky brown skin and her long black hair made her look stunning. It was a shame she did this for a living. She was too beautiful and kind to be selling herself like this.

The girl nodded her thanks to Emily and stepped up to the car, while Emily walked away. She was beginning to think this night was hopeless. As she walked closer to the building, a car pulled up along the alley way. Emily's heart immediately started racing. Something felt off.

The window of the tinted black Mercedes rolled down. A man with stunning blue eyes and slicked blonde hair smiled at her.

"Pardon me, Madame. I seem to be lost and my cell phone battery died. Can you tell me where Lionel Street is?" the man asked with a thick British accent.

"You need to make a left on the street ahead, go 8 blocks make a right, go to the first stop light and you'll be at Lionel Street," Emily said smiling back at him.

The man looked ahead and scrunched his face in confusion.

"I have the worst memory, I feel like I'm going to forget that and get lost again," he said.

"Do you have paper and a pen?" Emily asked.

"Sadly, I don't. Look, I'll pay you $100 if you ride with me to give me directions. I'm supposed to be meeting a friend for drinks. I don't want him to think I stood him up," he frowned.

"That's awful nice of you, but I'm not interested," she said giving him an apologetic smile.

"Pardon me if this seems crude, but are you not out here soliciting yourself for money? I'm willing to pay you just to help me find my way. Why would you want to turn that down?" he said looking genuinely confused.

"I was about to take a break, that's why," Emily said. "Maybe one of the other girls will help you out."

With that Emily started to walk away, when she heard the car door open. She spun around to see what he was doing and felt a fist slam into her jaw. Caught off guard, she fell to the cement.

"I don't want them! I want you!" he growled into her face as he pinned her down.

"Freeze, FBI!"

The man looked up in a panic and jumped off Emily. He looked at his car and back at Spencer.

"Do not run or I will shoot and trust me when I say I will not hesitate," Spencer growled.

Emily had scrambled to her feet as the sound of sirens and other cops ran onto the scene. The man lifted his hands in the air, surrendering. Rossi walked up to the unsub and pushed him against the car as he placed cuffs on him.

"Are you alright?"

Emily turned to Spencer, who was staring at her with concern in his eyes. She gave him a small smile and nodded. He walked closer and placed his hand on her chin. He tilted her face toward the light with a frown on his face.

"You should put some ice on that," he said.

"I'm alright, Spence. It's only a little sting," she assured him.

"Guys, look at this," Hotch called from the man's car.

They walked over to where Hotch stood staring into the trunk. When they peered inside they knew they had the right man. Inside the trunk, were dozens of torture devices including the signature branding iron he used on all the victims.

"Good job, Reid. Prentiss, you alright?" Hotch asked as he caught sight of her bruising cheek.

"Yea, I'm fine. I could use a hot shower though," she sighed.

"Head back to the hotel room. We'll catch up with you in the morning," Hotch said. "Reid, take her back and make sure she gets in safely."

Spencer nodded as he led Emily off to one of the waiting SUV's.

(xxxxx)

Emily opened the door to her room and stepped inside. It was so warm and she was so cold. She walked over to the bed and dropped down backwards onto it. She sighed as the night's events weighed on her.

"You know, you shouldn't touch the comforters. They are loaded with germs," Spencer said gently.

"I don't care. I just needed to lay down for a moment," she said closing her eyes.

She heard Spencer move and suddenly felt his hands on her ankles. He was undoing the straps of her heels and sliding them off her feet. She wanted to protest, but she kind of liked being pampered by him. She sat up and smiled at him.

"Come on, I'll start the shower for you," he said walking off to the bathroom.

She heard the shower turn on as she slid the faux fur coat off her shoulders and tossed it onto a nearby chair. She slowly removed her earrings and tried to undo her necklace, but was struggling with the stupid clasp.

"Spence?" she called out.

"Yea," he answered as he walked back out of the bathroom.

"Can you help me? I can't get this stupid clasp to open," she said showing him her necklace.

He walked over to her and she turned away from him. With her left hand, she pulled her hair over her shoulder so he could see. She felt his hands brushing against her neck. She felt a chill run down her spine.

"It looks like it's bent," he said as he continued to play with the necklace.

She closed her eyes as she waited for him to remove the necklace. Finally, he was able to bend it back into place and unattach it. Emily turned around to take it from him and stared into his eyes. She felt the heat rushing through her as she took the necklace back.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Spencer seemed to be at a loss for words. He just nodded.

"I don't suppose you'd unzip my dress while you're at it?" she said as her pulse raced.

Spencer swallowed hard, but nodded. Again, Emily turned her back on Spencer and moved her hair. She felt the zipper being moved down slowly. She didn't move as she felt his hand trail up her spine. She sucked in her breath when he moved the strap to the side and gently placed his lips on her skin.

Emily bit her lip to keep from crying out at the feeling of his touch and his warm lips on her cold skin. Much too soon for her liking, Spencer stepped away from her.

"The shower should be hot," he said huskily.

"Will you wait for me?" she asked without turning around.

"Yea," he said.

Emily slowly walked off to shower. Once inside, she leaned against the door as she let out all the air she'd been holding in. She was so aroused right now, but they were on a case. They were supposed to stay professional, those were the rules.

She climbed into the shower and turned it down to cold so she would freeze off any arousal. She wanted to do more with Spencer, but she didn't think he would be ready this soon. He was more old fashioned and less experienced then she was. The last thing she wanted to do was scare him off or offend him.

After she finished showering, she climbed out and started to dry off. Wrapping the towel around her body, she walked out of the room to find Spencer sitting on the edge of the bed. He seemed upset. He looked up at her with sadness in his eyes.

"Spence, you alright?" she asked stopping in her tracks.

"I failed you again," he said sadly.

"What? Failed me? How?" she said genuinely confused.

He got up from the bed and walked over to her. He placed his fingers tenderly around her wounded cheek. Truthfully, in all the excitement she felt with her arousal, she'd forgotten about the bruise.

"Oh, Spencer, no. You did not fail me. You were there immediately. I'm standing here in front of you because you reacted so quickly," she said grabbing his hand and holding it between her hands.

"He hit you," he said barely above a whisper.

"There's no way you could have predicted he was going to do that Spencer. You can't put that much on your shoulders. You did everything you could the second you knew something was wrong and that's all you can do," she said.

She lifted his chin to look at her and smiled at him.

"I'm ok, I promise," she said.

He gave her a small head nod and a slight smile. She lifted his hand that she held to her lips where she placed a kiss on the back of it. As she let his hand go, she moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Emily leaned in and pressed her lips gently to his.

After a moment, Spencer pulled away.

"I should probably go. I don't know when the team will be back and …" he trailed off.

"I know. We need to stay professional," she said.

He could hear the disappointment in her voice. He ran his hands down her bare arms and linked their fingers together.

"There is nothing more I want to do right now then stay with you," he said giving her a kiss. "But we know how bad it would be if we got caught. I don't want to take that chance."

Emily nodded. "I know," she whispered.

"Tomorrow night, stay with me," he said surprising her.

"All night?' Emily said stunned by the offer.

"Yes, I'll make it up to you," he said.

"You don't have to make anything up to me Spencer," she said wrapping her arms around his neck. "That being said, ok I'll stay with you tomorrow."

A smile stretched across Spencer's face as he leaned in to kiss her. The kiss was gentle, but there was a strong need in it. They both wanted more and it had become obvious. Again, Spencer was the one to stop the kiss.

"Sleep well Emily," he said.

"You too," she replied as she watched him walk out of the hotel room.

Well it was certain now. Emily was irrevocably, do not pass go, do not collect $200, in love with Spencer Reid.


	7. Chapter 7

_Bonus, another chapter! Warning, this one is definitely M rated!_

 _Also the song used in this is "Stay in the Dark" by The Band Perry. Enjoy xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Emily sat on Spencer's couch listening to music as they took a sip of the red wine he'd poured for her. Spencer sat at on one end of the couch, while Emily sat at the other with her legs resting on his lap.

"How do you not like Sushi?" Emily asked with feigned shock.

"It's raw fish!" he said scrunching his nose in disgust.

"But it's so good!"

"I'm not a bear. I'm happy to cook my fish and eat it," Spencer said.

Emily laughed and it brought a smile to his face. He loved her laugh. The song on the radio changed and Emily perked up.

"I love this song," she said as she bobbed her head to the beat.

 _Here we are in this moment  
Eyes closed, where we going?  
Here I am with my arms wide open  
Go ahead, close the curtains  
I don't care where we'll end up  
Right now, let's be in love  
Here I am with my heart wide open  
Go ahead, close the curtains_

 _Lately, things been getting so crazy  
I'm feeling like my heart hates me  
it's racing_

 _I just wanna stay in the dark (ooh, ooh)  
Turn off all the lights  
Come hold me tight  
Where we going?  
I just wanna stay in the dark (ooh, ooh)  
Turn off all the lights  
Come hold me tight  
And get me going  
I just wanna stay in the dark_

 _Oh, oh, oh it feels so good tonight  
Yeah, I just wanna stay in the dark_

Spencer had to admit that it had a good beat to it. He looked at Emily as she hummed along with the song with her eyes closed.

"I never realized how much I can relate to this song," she said opening her eyes.

Spencer took a moment to rerun the lyrics in his mind. As he did so, Emily placed her wine glass on the table. She turned toward him and took his glass too. He shifted in his seat to angle himself a bit more toward her.

Emily scooted closer to him, licking her lips. She reached out and grabbed ahold of Spencer's tie pulling him to her. His lips were so soft and warm against hers. As their kiss intensified, Emily threw her leg over his lap, straddling him.

Spencer placed his hands on Emily's hips, as she ran her fingers through his hair. She felt his arousal pressing into her thigh, encouraging her to take a chance at moving this forward. As their tongues battled one another, Emily began untying Spencer's tie.

This must've emboldened him, because she felt his hands slip under her shirt and gently run along her skin. Emily sat back and lifted her arms up in the air. Spencer looked at her for a second, as if debating, but he obliged and lifted her shirt over her head, leaving her in just her purple bra.

She unbuttoned a few of his buttons before pulling his shirt over his head as well. Her mouth immediately attacked his again as his hands ran up her back. She felt him reach the clasp of her bra and stop. She knew he was waiting in case she didn't want him to remove it.

"Go ahead," she whispered against his lips before taking his tongue back into her mouth.

His fingers quickly undid her bra. Emily leaned back and slid it off. Spencer looked down at her naked top half and seemed to be studying her body. His hands slowly moved from her hips up until they reached the underside of her breasts. She sucked in her breath when he ran his thumbs lightly over the nipples that were hard and begging to be touched.

When she saw his head dip, she leaned up on her knees to give him better access. Cradling his head, she moaned as he pulled one pink nub into his mouth, while massaging the other with his hand. Emily climbed off his lap and slid onto the couch, dragging Spencer with her.

He went straight for her mouth as he climbed over top of her. She hooked her legs around his as his knee grinded into her middle.

"Touch me," she said as she nipped at his ear.

Spencer adjusted himself to the side of her as Emily undid the button and zipper of her pants. He leaned down to kiss her again, when she felt his hand slip through her underwear. Emily moaned into his mouth as he ran his hand along her center. She let out a gasp and threw her head back as he slipped a finger inside of her.

Spencer watched her in amazement as she bit her lip and closed her eyes, clearly enjoying what he was doing. He leaned over and covered her neck and chest in kisses as he added another finger to her body.

"Fuck, that feels so good," she said breathlessly.

"You feel amazing," he replied moving back to her mouth.

As they kissed one another, Emily began undoing Spencer's belt. Once this was complete, she unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, encouraging him to slide them off completely.

"Em, are you sure," he said hesitantly.

"I've never been more sure of anything," she said as she slid her pants and underwear off completely.

Spencer looked over her body in awe. She felt herself blushing at his intense stare as he ran his hands up and down her fully exposed body. She was about to ask him to please touch her, when he slid out of his clothes.

Emily wasted no time reaching down and grasping his throbbing member in her hand. Spencer let out a groan as she ran her hand up and down it, using the bit of pre-cum as a lubricant.

"Condom?" he practically squeaked out.

"I'm on the pill," she said.

Spencer climbed on top of Emily. She spread her legs wide and used her hand to guide him to her entrance. He pressed against her wet and hot core. He moved slowly, but with each push he pressed harder into her. After four good pushes, her body accepted his entire length, making them both moan out in pleasure.

"You feel so good," Spencer whispered as he kissed her jaw.

Emily grabbed his head and pulled his mouth roughly to hers. They kissed desperately as Spencer began to move in and out of her. He gave a series of gentle thrusts, before slamming into her harder.

"Fuck, yes. Spencer that feels amazing. Keep doing that," Emily groaned as he pushed into her feverishly.

Emily wrapped her legs tightly around Spencer's waist as he moved quickly and deliberately. Emily cried out as his chest pressed against hers. She felt him reach under her butt and hold her tightly. At this angle, he was hitting her favorite spot perfectly.

"Spencer, fuck!" she cried.

"Em, I'm almost there," he moaned into her ear.

"Let go baby, it's ok," she said sucking on his earlobe.

As he started moving frantically, he slid a finger between the two of them and rubbed at her clit. Emily started groaning and squealing under his touch. Three hard rapid thrusts and Spencer filled her with his seed. He was trying to still rub Emily, but his hands were shaking from orgasm.

Emily didn't say anything, she was glad he was able to reach his climax. She was running her fingers through his hair to soothe him, when he suddenly slid from her grasp. She was about to question him, when his mouth latched on to her clit.

Emily let out a gasp of surprise and pleasure He pressed her legs back further to give himself better access. He sucked hard as he shoved two fingers inside of her. Emily didn't have a chance to even protest. She squirmed under him as he hit all the right spots.

"Right there, oh shit! Spence, don't stop, right there!" she called out as she clutched the pillow behind her head.

Spencer continued his movements, licks, and sucks until he felt her tightening around his fingers. Emily screamed out his name as a rush of fluid poured from her and her legs shook from the intensity of the orgasm. He moved back up to her lips and placed a loving kiss against her as he removed his fingers from her body.

"You didn't have to … do that," she said as she tried to catch her breath.

"And miss this moment?" he said watching her come down from her high.

"That was incredible," she sighed. "You are incredible."

She pulled his mouth to hers, kissing him until he collapsed from exhaustion. She curled into his body, pressing her back against his chest. Spencer reached over the couch and grabbed the afghan that lay there. He draped it over their bodies and wrapped his arms around Emily.

She snuggled into him and found herself falling asleep quickly. She felt safe and happy in his arms.


	8. Chapter 8

_Ok, so I went a little out of order and different with this part of the story. It follows somewhat the beginning of season 12, but I wrote the dialogue to fit with the story thus far. I keep Derek in the story – he has not left._

 _I hope you enjoy xoxo_

 _PS – if you like talking Criminal Minds, we have a group on Twitter that chats about it all day from all over the world. My name is 4theLuvofGube - find me and I can add you to the group_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer was sound asleep cuddling Emily in his arms, when the sound of his phone woke him up. He grudgingly climbed over Emily and dug through his pant pockets looking for the phone.

"Dr. Reid?" he said answering in a hurry.

Emily had woken up during the shuffle and was watching him with a smile on her face. Spencer slid into his jeans and stood up abruptly.

"What? Is she ok? Can I talk to her?"

The smile dropped from Emily's face as she sat up with concern. She clutched the afghan around her body as Spencer paced the living room.

"Ok, thank you," he said before hanging up the phone.

"What happened?" Emily asked gently.

He looked at her with glazed eyes. "Uh, that was the Las Vegas Police. I guess they found my mom wandering the casinos. She was lost and didn't know who she was," he said biting his bottom lip.

"Oh my gosh, Spencer. I'm sorry. Is she alright?"

"Yea, she's back at Bennington, but she's still confused and angry. They had to sedate her," he said sadly.

"Is there anything I can do?" she asked climbing off the couch and walking to him.

She didn't care that she was naked. She needed to comfort him. She placed her arms around his neck and hugged him. He hesitated, but wrapped his arms around her.

"No, I don't think so, but I should probably go see her. I don't think this medication is working. I really thought … I thought it was helping, but I guess I was wrong," he said as he buried his head in her neck.

Emily ran her fingers along his back to soothe him.

"Do you want me to come with you?" she offered.

Spencer pulled back in surprise. "You would go with me to see my mom?"

"Yea, why is that so shocking?" Emily said smiling.

"I don't know," he said. "I guess, I just didn't think …"

"You didn't think this was serious? Spencer, I hope this is the last time I have to tell you this. I am with you because I like you. This isn't some office fling. This is very real to me and I expect to be a part of your life as your girlfriend," she said holding his face in her hands.

"But I thought it was a secret?" he said as a small smile played at his lips.

"Well, yea for now it is. But not because I don't want people to know. I'd prefer it be out in the open, but until you feel this is legit and realize I'm not going to bail on you, it's better to keep it on the down low," she explained.

"So, you can't come with me to see my mom then," he said.

"Why?" she said furrowing her brow.

"If you come with me, it'll look suspicious. There's no reason for you or anyone else to come with me," he said.

"Shit, that's true," she sighed. "But I want to be there for you," she insisted.

He pulled her close and placed a soft chaste kiss to her lips.

"I know and I can't thank you enough for that," he said leaning against her forehead. "I'll be alright on my own. I can always call you if I need to talk."

"You can? No, you better," she said pinching his side playfully.

He laughed and gave her another kiss.

"I need to go book a flight, you can lay down longer if you'd like or the showers that way," he said pointing to his bedroom.

"A shower actually sounds nice," she said walking off to the bedroom.

"Help yourself to anything you'd like," he said as he dialed a number into his phone.

(xxxxx)

The following day, Emily walked into the office toward her desk. She had dropped Spencer off at the airport last night and was already missing him. As she placed her items down on the desk, Rossi came storming over to her.

"I need to talk to you," he said urgently.

"Ok," she said slowly, wondering what he wanted.

She hoped the secret hadn't gotten out about her and Spencer. She followed Rossi to his office and closed the door behind herself.

"What's going on?" she said, seeing the distress in Rossi's eyes.

"I just got off the phone with Hotch. Mr. Scratch is stalking him," he began. Emily's eyes widened. "He said yesterday at Jack's soccer game, Scratch showed up. By the time, Hotch was able to go after him, he was long gone."

"Holy shit," Emily said in shock.

"Yea," Rossi agreed.

"So, what do we do?" Emily asked folding her arms across her chest.

"For right now, we do nothing," he said.

"Do nothing?" she said surprised.

"I know, I'm not happy about it either. Hotch wants to keep it quiet for the time being. So, we are to tell everyone he's away on a special assignment, while they investigate. He'll have agents helping watch over him and Jack until they can locate Scratch," Rossi explained.

"Geez," Emily sighed.

"Emily, you and I are going to need to run things for a while, until Hotch can come back. Do you think you will be able to do that?"

"Yea, I can do that," she replied immediately.

"Ok, I also put out an order to get some more agents to help us. We are going to be short staffed with Hotch being gone, you and I being placed in a leadership role, and Reid being in a predicament with his mom," Rossi said walking to his desk.

He handed Emily two files. She flipped one open and saw a picture of a beautiful brown skinned agent staring back at her.

"Tara Lewis is coming to work with us full time? That's great news," Emily replied before flipping open the next folder. "Luke Alvez. I don't know him."

"He works for the Fugitive Task Force. We think he'd be great at helping us find Mr. Scratch," Rossi said.

"His resume is impressive. When do they start?" Emily asked.

"Today," he replied.

"Wow, ok, well let's go inform the team," she said.

(xxxxx)

Spencer swung the door to his hotel room open and wandered miserably inside. He dropped onto the bed and covered his face. He felt like crying … screaming … breaking something … pretty much anything, but all he could do was sit here.

He heard his phone ringing and considered ignoring it, but first he looked to see who it was. He saw Emily's face smiling back at him. She must have snuck that into his phone without him knowing. A small smile spread across his lips.

"Hey Em," he said.

"Hey, how are you?" she asked with concern in her voice.

"Um, not great, but I'll figure it out," he said hoping to not talk about it.

"I know you don't like talking about your mom, but you know I'm here for you if you need me. Any time," she said with sincerity.

"I know, thank you," he said softly. "How's things going there?"

"Well, we have some new agents," she started.

"We do? Who are they?" he asked leaning back on the headboard.

"You know Tara Lewis, we've had a few cases with her before," Emily said.

"Oh, yea. She's great," he said.

"The other is Luke Alvez. He's been working with the Fugitive Task Force. Rossi thought he'd be helpful in catching Mr. Scratch," she explained.

"Makes sense."

"Yea," she said trailing off.

"There's more isn't there?" he said picking up on her tone.

"I'm not supposed to tell anyone," she said feeling guilty for keeping this from Spencer.

"Well, you know if you tell me anything I will keep it to myself, but I understand that with work you are obligated to keep things confidential. If you don't tell me I won't be upset with you," he said.

"How did I ever get so lucky to have you in my life?" she sighed.

"I could say the same," he said, followed by silence.

"Spence, Hotch is going to be gone for a while," she suddenly blurted.

"What? Is that the secret?" he asked sitting up straighter.

"Sort of. He's on special assignment," she said sadly.

"That's the lie, correct?" he said frowning. Though he told her he wouldn't be mad, he felt a twinge of disappointment that she didn't tell him the true story.

"Yea. That's the lie. Spence, Mr. Scratch … he's been spotted again," she began.

"Where?"

"He was seen watching Jack's soccer game the other day. Hotch is helping surveillance try to locate him. He has agents watching over him and Jack while they search for him," she said in a hushed voice.

This he knew was the truth. His heart raced with part anxiety over Hotch and Jack's safety, but part happiness that Emily actually told him the secret.

"Oh my God, is there anything we can do?" he asked.

"That's the thing. For right now, we aren't even supposed to know, so no we can't do anything," she answered.

"Well, this sucks," he sighed.

"Tell me about it. Rossi and I are trying to help run the team until we are told otherwise," she said.

"Wait, Em, you're going to be a leader?" he said.

"Yea," Emily said hesitantly.

"That's great. That's really great for your career Em. You should be proud of yourself," Spencer said excitedly.

"Yea, but Spence, that sort of complicates things more," she said sadly.

"Why?"

"They frown about fraternization between co-workers, but it's strictly prohibited for you to date a superior," she said.

"Well, it's only until Hotch returns, and we are keeping it secret anyway," he said not concerned.

"That's true. I just … " she trailed off.

"What?" he asked now worrying.

"I just … I … Spencer, I know I told you if we didn't work out we could just go back to being friends like it was nothing, but I don't know if I can really do that," she said, her voice trembling.

"What? Why? You promised," he said anxiously.

"I know I promised, but that was before," she said.

"Before what?"

"Before I fell in love with you," she said almost too softly.

"You … wait, you … what?" he stuttered.

"I love you Spencer. I can't just stop loving you and go back to the way things were," she said. Her voice giving away that she might've been crying.

Spencer couldn't find his voice. It had been such a short time that he and Emily first started dating and she was in love with him. His brilliant 187 IQ was blank. No words came to mind.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. I'll talk to you later," she said.

"Emily! Wait, no!" Spencer called, but it was too late. He heard the click of her phone and the sound of silence followed. "Great job, Spencer."

He threw his phone down on the bed and once again covered his face in frustration. Everything was starting to change and it was feeling like his life was spiraling out of control. He was losing his mom, he might lose Hotch, and now he may even lose Emily as a girlfriend and a friend. What was he going to do?


	9. Chapter 9

_A bit different from the show, but still the same sort of concept. I was hoping to do another chapter tonight, but I'm about to leave work and won't be able to write anymore tonight._

 _Thank you for the comments! Xoxox!_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer had been gone for over a week. Emily spoke to him every day, neither talking about her declaration of love. Being in the field without him felt off, especially since Hotch was gone too. After a long day, she trudged up the stairs of her apartment and unlocked her door. Stepping inside, she froze when she saw her living room lights were lit.

She didn't remember leaving them on. She pulled her gun out of her holster and slowly walked into the living room. She dropped the gun to her side, when she saw Spencer smiling at her. She ran across the room and jumped into his waiting arms.

"You almost got yourself shot," she said throwing her arms around his neck.

"It was worth it," he grinned.

"When did you get home?" she asked leaning back to look at him.

"About three hours ago. Garcia told me you guys were expected to be landing at 7ish, so I came over here to wait for you," he said.

"Well, I'm glad you did," Emily said before pushing his head towards hers.

They kissed each other feverishly as Emily began stripping away his shirt.

"Geez, Em. You just walked through the door," he said laughing.

"And I said hi, is that not enough time?" she joked as she pushed his shirt to the floor.

"Don't you want to talk?" he asked as she kissed all over his neck.

"Nope, right now I just want this," Emily said as she pulled her shirt over her head and took her bra off without skipping a beat.

Spencer laughed a bit, but gave in to her request, lifting her up in his arms. He carried her off to the bedroom, where he placed her on the bed. As Emily scooted toward the middle of the bed, she undid her pants and slid out of them.

"Man, you aren't wasting a second, are you?" he chuckled.

"I have been dreaming about you since you left," she said as she sat up to unbuckle his belt. "That's 10 days of having to take care of myself in order to get through the day. So, no I'm not wasting a second."

Spencer was stunned by this admission.

"You touched yourself because of me?" he said barely above a whisper.

"Yes and one day I'll show you, but right now, I just want you inside of me," she said grabbing ahold of his throbbing dick.

Spencer pushed his pants the rest of the way down before lining himself up with her entrance. He reached down to get her ready for him, but was shocked to find her already dripping wet.

"I told you," she said smirking at him.

"Fuck," he breathed out. "That is so hot, Em."

"Yes, I know. Now come here," she said sitting up, throwing her arms around his neck, and pulling his mouth to hers.

She greedily attacked his mouth, pressing her tongue aggressively against his tongue. The kiss was loud, sloppy, and filled with moans. Emily broke the kiss to cry out as Spencer pressed himself into her.

"I missed you so much," she said as he thrusted into her.

Spencer leaned down and kissed her hungrily. His body moving rapidly against her.

"Emily?" he gasped.

"What?" she said as she ran her hands up his bare chest.

"I love you too," he said looking her in the eye and slowing down his motions. "I wanted to say it back the other night, but I was caught off guard and I was scared and overwhelmed at the moment. I'm sorry if I hurt you."

Emily ran her hand along his cheek.

"You have nothing to apologize for Spencer. Nothing at all," she said as a tear slid down her cheek.

Spencer reached out and wiped the tear away with his thumb. He kissed her gently before resuming his movements. Their fingers locked together as he continued to push in and out of her. Only moments later did they both cry out in ecstasy as they climaxed together.

(xxxxx)

Emily's head was lying on Spencer's chest, her hand running absentmindedly across his skin. His hand making small circles along her back.

"So, what did you decide to do about your mom?" Emily asked.

"Well, I actually got her into an amazing trial program in Houston at the Anderson Clinic. That's what took longer than expected. They actually believe this new medication has the power to reverse the effects of Alzheimer's. I had to pull some strings, but I finally got her in," he said.

Emily could hear that happiness in his voice. "Spence, that is amazing! So, it's like a cure?"

"Not particularly a cure, but it keeps her from progressing," he said.

"Wow, what a blessing. I'm so happy for you and for her," Emily said placing a kiss on his chest.

"Thank you. It's a relief really. I was starting to worry about her," he said as his voice lost the sound of happiness. "You know, when I went to see her … she didn't recognize me. She thought I was a new doctor."

Emily leaned up on her elbow. "Oh Spence," she said.

He looked at her for a second before turning away from her stare. He looked heartbroken. Emily ran her hand along his cheek.

"It'll be ok now. She's at a great clinic and this trial will be amazing and she'll be back to her old self before you know it," Emily said smiling at him.

"I hope so," he said taking her hand and placing a kiss on the back of her wrist. "I'm glad I have you during this time."

"I'm glad to. I'm always here for you," she said leaning forward to give him a kiss.

(xxxxx)

Emily got to the office before Spencer. They didn't want to show up at the same time as it would look suspicious. Before she even had a chance to reach her desk, Rossi was summoning her. She placed her stuff down on the desk and hurried off to his office.

She shut the door behind herself as she stepped into his office. She knew by the look on his face that things were bad.

"What happened? Is it Hotch? Is he alright?" Emily asked as her heart raced.

"Maybe you should sit down," he said pointing to the chair in front of the desk.

"Oh, shit," she sighed. "What happened? Just say it."

"I got a call this morning from Cruz, Scratch showed up at Jack's school," Rossi started.

"Oh my God, is Jack ok? He didn't get Jack, did he?" Emily said grabbing her heart.

"Thankfully no, but Hotch is worried for Jack's safety. It's become too dangerous and after Haley, he doesn't want to take any more chances," Rossi explained.

"So, what's he going to do?"

"Hotch and Jack have been admitted to Witness Protection," he said.

Emily put a hand to her mouth and stared back at Rossi in shock. That was it. Hotch was gone. He was gone and they were left to figure this out on their own.

"Ok, so let's go get this son of a bitch, so they can come home," she said angrily.

"He's not coming back Emily," Rossi said sadly.

"What?" she said furrowing her brow.

"He sent in his resignation. He doesn't want to come back. He is afraid it'll just keep happening, that someone will pick up where Scratch left off. He wants Jack to live a better life."

Emily swallowed hard and turned to look out the blinds at the team. She could see Spencer talking with Tara, Luke, Derek and J.J. She felt tears fill her eyes. Everything was about to change big time for them. This was going to be a devastating blow to the team.

"There's more," Rossi said interrupting her thoughts.

Emily turned to look at him.

(xxxxx)

Rossi and Emily had called the group to the conference room. They stood around the circle table looking at a clearly distressed Emily and Rossi.

"What's going on?" Penelope asked.

"Guys, we need to talk about something," Rossi began.

"Is it about Hotch?" Spencer said, forgetting he was supposed to think he was just away on assignment.

Emily glanced at him, but Rossi didn't seem to see this as an abnormal question. He nodded his head slowly.

"Oh my God, is he ok?" Penelope burst out.

"Hotch hasn't been away on a special assignment," Rossi said before explaining to them the entire story.

The whole time the team listened with their jaws dropped and stunned expressions. Emily and Spencer kept exchanging glances. He could see she was distraught, but he felt it was more than just Hotch. She knew something else that wasn't being spoke of.

"So, he can never come back? We can never talk to him again?" Penelope said as tears streamed down her cheek.

Derek reached out and pulled her into a side hug. She laid her head on his shoulder as she sniffled.

"After what Hotch has been through, can you blame him?" Rossi said.

A few of them nodded their understanding.

"So, does this mean you are the new Unit Chief?" J.J. asked, hoping to get some good news.

"No, I'm too old and I don't want that responsibility," Rossi said.

That's when it hit Spencer. That was why Emily looked so miserable.

"Emily," he said barely above a whisper.

The group looked at him and then back at Emily. She was looking at him with sadness in her eyes.

"It was Hotch's request that Emily take over as Unit Chief," Rossi stated.

"That's great news!" Penelope said through her tears.

"Yes, this will be great!" J.J. sighed.

Tara, Luke, and Derek all praised the idea. Spencer didn't take his eyes off of her. If she took the job as Unit Chief their relationship was as good as done.

"I haven't said yes," she said, though she was still looking only at Spencer.

 _But you will_.

"Prentiss, you would be crazy to give this opportunity up," Derek said.

"Yea, besides, if you don't someone else will come in here and run things and they could be awful!" Penelope protested.

"I need to think about it guys. This is a lot to take in at the moment. I have until tomorrow to make the decision," Emily said looking away from Spencer finally to acknowledge the group.

 _But you will._

Spencer knew this was the end. There would be no more Emily and Spencer.

"Can we have the rest of the day? I really need to take this all in," Spencer said feeling a sudden rage of anger.

"Absolutely. I know this is hard on you guys. If you need to talk, please call me," Rossi said.

With that Spencer rushed from the room. Emily wanted to chase after him, but she knew that she couldn't. She had to stay behind and figure out what to do.


	10. Chapter 10

_A bit different from the show, but still the same sort of concept._

 _Thank you for the comments! Xoxox!_

 _(xxxxx)_

Emily knocked on Spencer's door, waiting patiently for him to answer. She had a key, but decided if he didn't want to see her, she wouldn't force him to. He, surprisingly, opened the door, but the look on his face told her he was not past the anger yet.

He walked back to the kitchen, without saying a word. Emily followed behind him. She watched as he poured himself a bowl of cereal. His hands were shaking as the milk splattered into the bowl. He shoved a spoon into the bowl and stormed past her.

Again, she slowly followed him. He took the bowl to the couch, where he plopped down and furiously shoveled a mouthful of Cheerios into his mouth. Emily slowly sat down on a nearby red leather chair. She picked at her fingernails as they sat in silence. Finally, she decided to bite the bullet and talk first.

"Spence, I haven't said yes yet," she said softly.

"You haven't said no either," he snapped as he shot her a dirty look.

Emily licked and then pursed her lips.

"I don't know what to do. If I take the job I lose you, if I don't take the job there is a risk that some asshole comes in and takes over our group, which effects everyone. It's a lot of pressure and I never asked for this," she said getting worked up.

Spencer looked up with a gentler look and put his bowl down.

"Em, come here," he said patting the couch.

Emily stood up and walked over to him. She sat down and instantly wrapped her arms around his neck. She wasn't crying, but he could feel her holding it back. Her chest rattled as she tried to control her breathing.

"I know this isn't easy for you and I'm sorry I'm making it harder. It's just, I knew this would happen. I knew once I opened my heart to you it was going to be destroyed and yet I stupidly trusted that maybe for once I would get to enjoy happiness," he said as felt himself choking up.

"I swear, I don't know why I'm targeted, but my life is a fucking mess. My dad left me, my mom is mentally unstable, I was tortured in school, both the father figures in my life are gone, my first true love was murdered in front of me, now my soulmate and the reason I get up in the morning is about to slip through my fingertips," he said angrily.

"Spencer, I am sorry. I am so sorry that I'm only causing you more pain. You don't deserve this and I never should have told you I had feelings for you," she said pulling out of his embrace.

"No, I mean I'm devastated this is going to end," he started before she interrupted.

"I haven't decided," she corrected.

Spencer smiled. He took her hands in his and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Emily, you're going to take this job. Because not only is it an amazing opportunity and for the better of the entire team, but it's the right thing to do. I will stand by your side through it all and I will always love you," he said.

"No," she said softly as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Spencer cupped her face and wiped the tears with his thumbs.

"Yes," he said.

Emily leaned into him, realizing what was happening. They were breaking up and her heart was destroyed. She literally felt as if it shattered and was not existent anymore.

"Can I at least have one last night with you. One last night to hold on to," she said, tears dripping from her face again.

"I don't know if I can," Spencer replied sadly.

"Please, Spencer, please," she begged barely above a whisper. "I need you."

Spencer took a deep breath and then nodded.

"Ok, but tomorrow we go back to the way we were. For the team," he said.

Emily nodded though it killed her inside. That night they made love. Each kiss and each touch was tender and slow. They didn't rush as they usually did. They made sure to enjoy the experience and to memorize every inch of each other. They wanted to remember how the other smelled and tasted. Their orgasms were nearly together and both of them screamed the loudest they'd ever screamed at climax.

When they were finished, they lay facing each other. Staring into one another's eyes, not wanting the moment to end. Because when morning came, this would be nothing more than a dream.

(xxxxx)

Emily had taken the job. Spencer stood by her side as he said he would. She would often find herself looking out the office window into the bullpen, where he sat. Sometimes he would look up and see her. They would look at each other for some time, before one of them found the strength to look away.

One night after a difficult case, the team decided they needed a moral boost and they all went out for drinks. The bar was packed for karaoke night and it took them a while to get a table, but Luke had finally managed to get them one.

Emily was feeling particularly depressed this evening. She had fallen asleep on the plane and dreamt about Spencer. That they were back together again and she felt peaceful. When she woke up to the same heartache she felt for weeks, she wanted to cry. Emily enjoyed multiple shots with the group, before loading up on some vodka and cranberry.

About an hour later, Emily was pretty far gone. She stood at the bar ordering another drink, when J.J. stepped up next to her.

"Hey, you alright?" she asked as she leaned on the counter.

"Fine, great, thanks for asking," she said before tipping her drink back.

"I know this has been a big change for you, but you're doing a great job and we love having you as the Unit Chief," J.J. said.

"Wonderful," Emily replied sarcastically.

She turned around to go back to the table, when she saw four girls standing around their table. Three of them were talking to Derek and Luke, while the other one was talking to Spencer. She was a beautiful blonde, with a skimpy top that showed her perfectly round breasts. Spencer was smiling at her as she told him something.

Emily felt her insides burning with anger. She handed J.J. her glass.

"I'll be right back," she said before storming off.

J.J. watched her confused, before making her way back to the table. The group continued to chat with the girls, when Penelope let out a gasp.

"Look! Look at the stage!" she said pointing.

They all turned their attention to the next karaoke singer and were stunned to see Emily. She told them she sang, but never in front of anyone. She was staring straight at Spencer, though nobody at the table could tell. To them it looked like she was just looking at their group.

 _How many times have I driven this road  
On my way home, it's always the same  
So many people just standing in line  
Chasing the lights, but losing their way_

 _And I find myself looking for you  
Yeah, I find myself looking for you  
Looking for you_

 _The city was on fire for us  
We would've died for us  
Up in flames, cue the rain  
In my heart, little sparks  
Everywhere that you are  
Up in flames, cue the rain_

 _Headlights and taillights they all look the same  
They come and the go, need something to chase  
Hard to remember what we left behind  
With your hand in mine, it's hard to erase_

 _And I find myself looking for you  
Yeah, I find myself looking for you  
Looking for you_

 _The city was on fire for us  
We would've died for us  
Up in flames, cue the rain  
In my heart, little sparks  
Everywhere that you are  
Up in flames, cue the rain  
And don't say, you're anything but Ok  
And don't fade tonight  
The city was on fire for us  
We would've died for us  
Up in flames, cue the rain_

As she continued to sing the finale of the song, Spencer felt himself getting choked up. Not only was this song about their love, but she was hurting so badly that she chose to sing to him to express it. She pushed through her biggest fear and sang to him.

When the song ended the crowd erupted in screams as did their table.

"Oh my gosh, she is amazing!" Penelope cried.

"She definitely wasn't lying," Derek agreed.

Emily walked off the stage and instead of going to the table, she rushed past them and out the front door. They looked at each other stunned.

Spencer and J.J. got up and ran after her. They stepped out into the cold January air and looked around for her. J.J. pulled out her phone and tried to call her, but she didn't answer. Spencer had jogged up and down the street looking for some sign of her.

"Spence, she just texted me," J.J. called out to him. He ran back to her side. "She said, she's fine, just needed to go home. She'd see us on Monday."

They both frowned at the message. Unsure if they should go to her house to check on her or let her be alone. Ultimately, they decided to let her be alone, though it killed Spencer deeply inside.

(xxxxx)

Three weeks had passed since that night and Emily continued to act as though nothing had ever happened. She even stopped going to her office window to look at Spencer. His heart was broken. He knew it was hard on them both, but it seemed she healed quickly and moved on.

He flipped through his paperwork and scribbled some notes when his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and smiled.

"Hey Mom," he said leaning back in his chair.

His smile faded as he listened to his Mom crying on the other end.

"Mom, Mom, calm down. Who was kidnapped?" he said sitting up straighter in his chair. "No, Mom, Pat and Grace are in Las Vegas, you are in Houston. Yea, at the Anderson Clinic."

As if she knew something wasn't right, Emily appeared in the doorway of her office. They connected eyes and she gave a head toss to tell him to come to her office. He nodded his understanding.

"Mom, why don't you take a rest and I'll give you a call later when I get out of work?" he suggested. "Ok, I love you too."

Spencer hung up the phone and sat there silently for a moment. He ran his hands through his hair with frustration before getting to his feet and walking to Emily's office. He walked in and shut the door behind himself.

"Everything alright?" Emily asked from behind her desk.

She was trying to act professional about it, but he could see the genuine concern in her eyes.

"I don't think so," he said sitting down in the chair in front of her desk.

Emily leaned forward to be closer to him.

"What's going on?"

Spencer seemed to contemplate what to share. A part of her stung at the thought of him keeping things from her.

"It's my Mom. The trial I put her in, it's not working. I think I need to go see her," he said.

"Spencer, I'm so sorry. You take any time you need. Is there anything we can do to help you?" Emily asked. She wanted to reach out and hold his hand, or hold him in her arms and tell him it would all be ok.

"Thank you. No I don't think there is anything at the moment," he said sadly.

"If that changes, please let me know," she said softly.

He nodded and got out of his chair, walking towards the door.

"Spencer," Emily called out.

Spencer turned to look at her. She seemed to debate something before she looked him in the eye.

"I'm always here for you," she said.

"I know," he replied before leaving the room.


	11. Chapter 11

_Not sure if I am going to keep running with how season 12 went. At this time, that's not the direction I think I see this going, but sometimes when I write, it just finds its own path._

 _*I forgot to mention the song Emily sang in the last chapter is Cue the Rain by Lea Michele_

 _Thank you for the comments! Xoxox!_

 _(xxxxx)_

Emily looked at her watch. It was nearly midnight her time. She still hadn't heard from Spencer that day. She'd check in with him every day since he'd been gone. He was very distressed about what to do for his Mom. She thought about their last conversation.

" _How is she doing today?"_

" _Not well. She's been very confused and aggressive. When the nurse came in to give her medicine, she threw the pills across the room saying the government was trying to control her," Spencer said sadly._

" _Oh, Spence. I'm sorry. What are you going to do?"_

" _I don't know. I don't know. It's like being 18 all over again."_

" _I know this is hard for you, but you are strong and so is your Mom. You will figure something out."_

She picked up her phone and tried calling him, but as it had all day, it went straight to voicemail. She decided that it was time to go to bed. She would try again tomorrow.

(xxxxx)

Emily walked into the office that morning exhausted. She was up all night worrying about Spencer. Sometimes she had this overwhelming feeling that she did the wrong thing breaking up with him and taking this job. Why did she always put her career over everything else? He needed her and she abandoned him.

She opened her office door and let out a small, startled yelp. Standing near her desk was Spencer. She rushed toward him and threw her arms around his neck. She fit perfectly in his arms. They held each other tightly and much longer than they should have, but neither wanted to let go.

"I was worried about you," she said softly.

"I'm sorry, things got a little crazy with Mom," he replied still holding her.

Emily finally broke the hug and stepped back.

"How is she? How are you?" she asked.

"She's alright. She's waiting in the conference room," he said sheepishly.

"She's with you?" Emily said stunned.

Spencer nodded and looked down at his feet.

"What happened to Houston? The trial?" Emily said with concern.

"She was getting the placebo. I can't just let her … I can't leave her in that place … knowing she'll never have a chance at getting better," he said choking up.

Emily took a deep breath.

"Ok, so what are you going to do? Can she go back to Bennington?"

"Probably," he replied.

"But?"

"But, I don't want to take her back there either," he said. Emily didn't know what more to say, so she looked at him with questioning eyes. "I am going to have her stay with me. This way I can keep an eye on her and make sure she is being treated with the best care."

"Oh Spencer, that is a big undertaking," Emily frowned.

"You don't think I know that?" he snipped.

"I didn't say that. I just … I think what you are doing is incredibly honorable of you. You've always had a huge heart and your mother is lucky to have you as her son. That being said, I don't think you are equipped to handle her full time while working here," Emily said.

"I won't do it alone. I'll have a caregiver who can stay with her while I'm at work or away on cases," he said as if that solved everything.

"Spencer, you have already moved your Mom once. Now you have moved her again. To a place where she'll be alone most of the day. This is going to be extremely stressful for her," she said.

"She'll be fine. She'll see me more and I make her happy," he defended.

"Of course, you make her happy, but at what cost to you and your health? This job is demanding as it is and now you're taking this on your shoulders as well," she said.

"Emily, I appreciate your concern, but I'm not changing my mind. My Mother is staying with me. I came in to let you know I need a few more days to get a caretaker and then I will be back to work," he said.

Emily could see that he was angry with her and she didn't want him to leave angry with her. She walked closer to him and reached out to grab his hand. He flinched as if he was going to pull away, but allowed her to clutch his hand.

"If this is what you want, then I support you one hundred percent. I will help you in any way I can and I'm sure the rest of the team would feel the same," she said.

He looked down at their hands and a small smile reached his face.

"Thank you," he whispered.

(xxxxx)

"Mom, stop! It's just soup!" Spencer hollered.

"It smells funny! I think it has cyanide in it," Diana said as she dumped the bowl of soup into the sink. "The delivery guy did it. I could see it in his eyes."

"Mom, the delivery guy didn't do anything and you can't smell cyanide. It's just soup, I'm eating it and I'm fine," he said as he tried to take the container from her hand.

Diana and Spencer struggled with the container until it fell to the floor.

"Great," he sighed.

"You'll thank me someday," Diana replied before walking off to the bedroom.

Spencer frowned as he watched her walk away. He grabbed a handful of paper towels and cleaned up the floor, when there was a knock at the door. He walked over to the door and opened it to find Emily holding a bag.

"Emily? Hi. What are you doing here?" he asked surprised.

"I thought Diana might want a few things to help her settle in," she said holding the bag out for him.

Spencer took it and gave her a grateful smile. He stepped aside to let her in.

"Oh, I'm interrupting your dinner. I can come by another time," she said noticing the Chinese take-out all over the table.

"No, it's alright. Mom isn't hungry. Do you want some? There's more than enough," he offered.

"I don't want to impose –" Emily began.

"You aren't imposing. Please stay. I could use the company," he admitted.

"Ok, then," Emily said as she walked over to the table to sit down.

Spencer handed her a container and a fork. The two sat in a comfortable silence eating, when the door opened to Spencer's bedroom.

"Who are you?" Diana said to Emily from the doorway.

Emily jumped up from her chair.

"Mom, this is my Unit Chief, Emily. You've met her before," Spencer said before Emily could respond.

Diana eyed her suspiciously.

"Unit Chief? What does that mean? Are you his boss?" she asked.

Emily smiled. "Basically, yes. I just direct the team. It's a pleasure to see you again."

"I don't remember you," Diana said.

"Mom," Spencer scolded.

"Spence, it's alright," Emily whispered to him.

Spencer gave her an apologetic smile before he grabbed the bag Emily gave him. He carried it over to Diana and handed it to her.

"Mom, Emily brought some things over for you. She thought it might help you settle in," Spencer said.

Diana looked from Spencer to Emily before peering into the bag. She pulled out a book and looked over the cover. She put it back and took out another book. She went through the bag one item at a time. Spencer watched her nervously.

"How did you know I liked these authors?" Diana asked with her arms crossed.

"Brilliant minds love brilliant authors. So, I did a little research and found these to be some of the greatest Renaissance authors," Emily said smiling at Diana.

Diana looked at Spencer and then back at Emily.

"Well, you must care a lot about my son to go through the trouble of trying to win over his Mother," she said.

"Oh, no –"

"Mom, we're – no."

They both started talking at once.

"I am a Paranoid Schizophrenic who is slowly losing her memory, but I'm not stupid. I can clearly see two people in love. So, don't insult my intelligence and pretend otherwise," Diana stated before grabbing the bag and walking toward the bedroom. "The only people you are fooling are yourselves."

With that she shut the door leaving Emily and Spencer alone in an awkward silence. Spencer shuffled his feet, slowly kicking up and releasing the corner of the decorative carpet that laid in his living room. Emily glanced at him. He looked up at her and bit his bottom lip nervously.

"She's right," Emily said softly. "We are only fooling ourselves."

"Everyone knows?" Spencer asked, looking almost panicked.

"No, I just mean, the fact that we both think we can just move on. Like our love meant nothing," she said frowning.

"It didn't mean nothing, Emily. It doesn't mean nothing. It means everything to me," Spencer said earnestly.

"That's my point Spencer. I am kidding myself if I think I can just let you go because of a job. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and it's been a huge part of my life, but the thought of losing you … it's not worth it," she said.

Spencer was stunned by her admission. He ran a hand across his mouth and jaw. He stepped closer to her.

"Emily, I love you more than words can even express, but you can't give up this job for me. You may think that's the right decision now, but in time you'll regret it and you'll resent me," he said with sadness in his eyes.

"No, I won't Spencer. The only thing I regret is allowing this job to get in the way of happiness. I've always picked everything else over me and I've always felt lost. My entire life I've spent searching for my place in this world and I thought the BAU was the answer, but I realized it had nothing to do with the job.

I never realized how at home I felt when I was with you, until you were gone. All those feelings of being lost and needing to find my way came rushing back. Spencer, _you_ are my home. Without you I'm just that scared little girl searching for answers. Searching for where I belong. This is where I belong. With you," she said as tears filled her eyes.

Spencer stepped toward her and pulled her into his arms. He held her tightly and kissed the top of her head. He could feel her clutching the back of his shirt tightly as if she was afraid he would disappear.

"So, what do we do? The second this comes out, one of us has to leave," he said, still holding her close to his chest.

"I know. Right now, I don't want to think about that. I just want you to hold me. We can figure out the rest later," she said listening to his steady heartbeat.

Spencer shuffled the two of them over to the couch, where he sat down and she snuggled against his chest. They held each other tightly until they fell asleep clutching desperately at one another.

The bedroom door slowly opened. Diana stuck her head out and smiled. She walked over and picked an afghan off the nearby chair. She draped it over the two sleeping lovers. She smiled as she looked at them.

"I won't remember either of you soon, but I'll be at peace knowing you will take good care of my baby," she whispered before walking back off to her room.


	12. Chapter 12

_Still not sure if I'm going to follow suit with Season 12. If I do, it won't be exactly the same. I like to add my own spin to things. Like the conflict between Spencer and Diana. Same idea, but different reasoning._

 _Hope you are enjoying the story so far! Thanks for always commenting. You have no idea how much I look forward to that! Also, thank you for the suggestions! I always try to take those ideas and work them into the story – so feel free to share more! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer woke up to the sound of clinking plates. He sat up a bit startled. He had fallen asleep on the couch … with Emily. He went to stand up and felt pain running through his back. He winced as he did a few bends and twists to crack the aching bones and stretch the tender muscles.

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

He turned to see Emily carrying plates to the, now cleared, kitchen table. Yesterday it had been covered in papers and books that he had been too busy to organize. His entire house was that way, actually.

"No," he said, even though she had.

He looked at the plates she was setting down on the table. There was eggs, fruit, and toast sitting on them. He even saw three cups of steaming coffee on the table.

"You did all of this?" he said surprised.

"I woke up early and you were still asleep. I didn't want to sneak out on you or just sit around either. So, I figured I'd make some breakfast. It's not much, but it should taste alright," she said almost embarrassed.

Spencer walked over to her and placed his hands around her waist. She draped her arms over his shoulders.

"Emily, that is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me," he said bending down to give her a gentle kiss.

He pulled back and smiled at her.

"Go see if your mom is awake. I'll finish setting the table," she said as she gave him a playful swat on the butt.

Spencer tried to hide the smile creeping up his face, but the longer he watched her walk away the harder it became. He, finally, turned and walked off to the bedroom. He knocked lightly on the wooden door and waited for a reply.

"Mom?" he said gently as he opened the door.

He saw his mom sitting on the edge of the bed staring angrily at the bathroom door. She was still wearing her pajamas and her hair was a mess, much like his.

"Mom?" he said again.

"What?" Diana said turning her glare to him.

"Emily made breakfast," he said staying near the door he'd entered through.

"Who's Emily?" she asked.

"Mom, you talked with her last night. She's my boss … and I guess, my girlfriend," he said trying again to stop his smile.

"Girlfriend? With your boss? Are you crazy, Spencer? She's going to get you fired!" Diana said angrily.

"Mom, no. No, she's not. Emily isn't like that. She wouldn't get me fired," Spencer said calmly.

"She's setting you up! You need to get away from her!" she said urgently.

Diana began walking quickly toward the bedroom door. Spencer stood in front of her blocking the way. Diana tried to plow through him.

"You will not get my son! I will kill you! I will kill you!" Diana screamed as Spencer tried to push her back toward the bed.

"Mom, stop it!" Spencer pleaded.

"That witch will not take my son down! You are not welcome here! Get out of here before I get my hands on you!" Diana kept screaming.

"Stop it!" Spencer yelled back at her as he kept backing her up until they reached the bathroom. He slammed the door shut and stood blocking the doorway. "Mom, knock it off! You need to calm down!"

Diana was pacing and running her hands rapidly through her hair. She started pulling on it and began screaming.

"Mom, stop!" he cried as he reached out and pulled her hands out of her hair.

"Let me go! Let me go!" she cried as she they wrestled in each other's arms.

"Mom, please. Everything is ok," he said as he continued to bear hug her. "It's ok, I'm right here. I'm ok, you are ok."

Diana continued to struggle in his arms before she slowly gave up sobbing hysterically. Spencer held her tightly to his chest as he tried to catch his breath and soothe her at the same time. After a few minutes, he started walking her to the bed. He gently sat her down and went back into the bathroom.

He grabbed a cup and filled it up with water. He also ran a rag under the faucet as well. He opened up the medicine cabinet, opened an orange bottle and dumped a small pill into his palm. He walked back into the bedroom and handed her the cup of water and the pill.

"Here take this. It'll help calm you down," he said softly.

Diana stared at the pill for a moment.

"It's ok, Mom. It'll help, I promise," Spencer said kneeling down in front of her.

She slowly took the pill from his hand and popped it into her mouth. She took the cup of water and took a big gulp. Spencer took her cup and placed it on the nightstand before gently running the wet rag along her face.

She looked at him with pure sadness in her eyes. Spencer gave her a comforting smile.

"Why don't you relax in here for a little while. Would you like a book to read?" he said standing up again.

"No, I'm going to lay down. I don't feel so well," she whispered.

Spencer waited for her to lay down on her side before he pulled the blanket up over her. He bent over and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

"I'm right out in the living room if you need me," he said before turning to leave the room.

He opened the door and slowly closed it behind himself. He leaned against it as the weight of his Mom's meltdown crashed through him. He felt like he couldn't breathe as he tried to remain calm. It had been so long since he had to deal with his Mom's episodes, he forgot how badly it hurt to witness it.

"Spence?"

He looked up to see Emily standing by the couch. He had forgotten that she was there. She heard everything. He tried to brush it off. Clearing his throat, he walked over to the kitchen table and sat down.

"Let's eat," he said lifting a fork.

Emily walked over to him, grabbed the nearest chair and dragged it closer to him. She sat down on the wooden chair and placed her hand on his knee. He was staring heavily at his plate trying desperately not to break.

"Spencer," she said again gently.

With that, the dam broke. Spencer dropped his fork and threw his hands over his face. He was embarrassed to cry like this in front of Emily, but the pain of his Mother's illness proved more powerful. Emily reached out and pulled him into her arms. She shushed as she cradled him against her.

She wanted to tell him it was ok, but she knew it wouldn't be. This would only continue to get worse. Not only did Diana suffer from the woes of Paranoid Schizophrenia, but she now had to deal with the terror of memory loss.

Eventually, his crying subsided and he slowly lifted his head from her shoulder. He gave her a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Emily shook her head. "No. Don't. There's no reason," she assured him.

She used her thumbs to wipe the remaining tears away. He still seemed ashamed, but he didn't express it any further. Emily leaned forward and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. She took his hand and led him over to the couch, where he laid his head down on her lap. Emily gently ran her fingers through his messy hair as he slowly drifted off to sleep again.

(xxxxx)

The door to the bedroom opened and Diana walked out snuggled in a pink fluffy nightgown. Emily put down the book she was reading and started to get up.

"No, don't move. You'll wake him. Just stay," Diana insisted.

Emily wasn't sure what to do or say, so she just gave a small smile. Diana looked at the table with the forgotten breakfast.

"Emily, did you do this?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am. I'm sorry, it's probably cold now. I could make you something else to eat?" Emily offered.

Diana waved her off. "No need, I can grab something myself," she replied. "And Diana is fine."

Diana shuffled around in the kitchen for a few moments before returning to the living room with a bowl of fruit and a glass of Orange Juice. She placed the glass down on a side table and sat down on the brown leather chair, across from the couch.

"How long has this been going on?" Diana asked as she pointed at her and Spencer.

"Umm, I'm not real sure. A couple months, I suppose," Emily said.

"He's always held a flame for you," Diana said as she took a bite of the cantaloupe.

Emily looked down at Spencer. He was still sound asleep on her lap. His one hand tucked under his cheek, while the other lay over her leg. She smiled at him and looked back up at Diana.

"It's funny, I never noticed before, but now it's clear that we've always had a connection. Even going back to my first case. I thought at the time I was trying to impress the team and Gideon, but I realize, I wanted Spencer to be amazed by me. I had been trying to impress him all along and I never even knew it.

We had a lot of cases together where I felt terrified, but watched as he confidently walked out into the field ready to battle. He's always been that source of light in the worst of times and for all the awkward moments, when he's in the field, he's braver than most people I know. You have raised a wonderful man, Diana," Emily said.

"I wish I could take credit for that, but I never raised Spencer. He raised himself," Diana said sadly.

"You may think that, but you still had plenty of influence on the man he is. Look at his love of reading. He's told me about the many times you spent reading together. In fact, many times he was able to solve cases remembering stories or poems that you had read to him," Emily stated.

A small smile hit Diana's lips. "Those moments are ones I hold on to deeply. When we read together it was as though I was normal. I felt alive and strong and capable. I felt like a Mother," she said with longing in her eyes.

"You are a great Mother and Spencer is incredibly proud of you," Emily said with sympathy.

"Emily, I shouldn't be here," Diana suddenly said.

"Why? Spencer loves having you here."

"I am a burden," she said. Emily went to protest, but Diana threw her hand up to stop her. "This is never going to get easier. I am only going to get worse. My mood swings are going to be erratic and my memory is going to continue to deteriorate. This is going to be too much for him. You need to try and convince him to send me back to Bennington. It's where I belong," Diana said.

"Oh, Diana, I don't know," Emily said unsurely.

"I have a bad feeling about this. My Spencer will stop at nothing to protect the ones he loves, even risking his own health and wellbeing. I do not see a good outcome," Diana said as she stared Emily down.

Emily opened her mouth, but closed it again, unable to think of anything to say. Diana seemed to be finished with the conversation as she picked up a book nearby and finished eating the bowl of fruit. Emily sat in silence, taking in everything that had been said.

She looked down at Spencer and felt afraid. Was Diana right? Was something going to happen if she didn't convince him to send her back to Bennington? Or would he think that she was just trying to get rid of Diana? Her fingers went immediately to her mouth, where she began to bite them. What was she going to do?


	13. Chapter 13

_Hopefully, I'll be able to add some more chapters tomorrow xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

The rest of the day was a quiet one. Spencer was still on edge, constantly glancing at his Mom to see if she was alright. Emily spent the day with them, but she spent most of it in silence, nibbling on her fingers. By the end of the day, they were all exhausted from worry.

Diana had taken her medicine and was already sound asleep. Emily paced the living room as she watched Spencer set up the couch and air mattress for bed. He was placing a sheet over the couch when he noticed Emily's nervousness.

"You ok?" he asked standing up straight to look at her.

Emily stopped pacing and tried to smile at him. "Yea," she said.

"Em, you've practically chewed your entire nail beds off and if you keep up that pacing you might wear a hole in the flooring," he said teasingly.

Emily tried to smile again, but she couldn't. This was very overwhelming and she was terrified to have this conversation with Spencer. She tried to talk Diana into just being honest with him, but she said she already tried and he brushed it off. He kept telling her she was better off with him.

"Hey, come here," he said, realizing how upset she was.

Emily walked over to him, where he opened his arms and pulled her in to his chest. She snuggled against him as he gently rubbed her back.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that this morning. I know this is a bit much and I don't blame you if you want to walk away from this," he said, though his quivering voice gave away his dislike of that idea.

Emily leaned back to look at him.

"Spencer, there is nothing in this world that would make me want to leave you. Yes, this morning was upsetting, but it's not a deal breaker. I am with you through thick and thin. I am always going to be by your side, no matter what," she said intensely.

Spencer nodded and felt himself internally sigh in relief.

"So, what's going on? I know there's something you aren't talking about," he said looking deep in her eyes.

"Can we sit down?" she asked.

He squinted in confusion, but nodded and sat down on the couch. Holding her hand, he pulled her down next to him. She looked down at their entwined fingers and tried to think of the best way to approach the subject. She knew it was touchy and she didn't want to anger him or make him think she wasn't being supportive.

She felt his fingers on her chin. He lifted her face to look him in the eye. His soft brown eyes were filled with concern and worry. She gave him a small smile, before turning away from him.

"Spencer, I love you," she started.

"I love you too," he said.

"Please, let me just get this out first. Then we can see how much you still love me," she said.

With a glance, she saw his walls being built up. It killed her that he still had that defense mechanism, especially around her. His body was stiffer and he had let go of her hand.

"Spencer, you know how much you mean to me and I truly mean it when I say I'll always be here for you. That I'm not going anywhere. That means the same regarding your Mom. I will be here for her, whatever she needs, in whatever state of mind she is in. She is probably more of a Mom in my eyes, than my own Mother," she began.

Spencer gave her a sympathetic smile. He hated the way Ambassador Prentiss treated her only child.

"That being said, I am extremely concerned about yours and your Mother's wellbeing," he stiffened beside her again. "I know you feel incredible amounts of guilt at her living in Bennington all these years and I know that you are trying to help her during this difficult time, but Spencer, this is not a safe environment for her."

"Not safe?" he snapped.

"By that I mean, she is going to grow increasingly violent and experience more episodes of paranoia and fear. And who is going to be on the receiving end of those meltdowns? You! I bet you don't even realize that you have cuts on your neck and face from her fingernails."

Spencer reached up and put a hand to his neck where he realized it felt tender to the touch. He hadn't noticed that she scratched him during their scuffle.

"You would never ever hurt her. That is not my worry. My worry is the accidental injuries you will sustain. She needs to be in a clinic that has the equipment and the abilities to deal with these situations. These are doctors and nurses who are trained to deal with this."

"I have an IQ of 187 Emily," Spencer said, as if that made him qualified.

"It doesn't matter how smart you are Spencer. That isn't the point. The point is she needs to be in a home like Bennington. She doesn't need to go back to Las Vegas. Maybe there is a clinic closer to home where you can visit her more," she suggested.

"I'm going to hire a nurse to live here and help take care of her," he said.

"Spencer, for the love of God, look at this place! It's barely big enough for you! Where is the nurse going to sleep? Where will you sleep?" Emily said getting frustrated. "I know you are talking from your heart and that's what I love about you. That big, loyal heart. But you have to look at this from a practical standpoint."

Spencer leaned on his knees with his face buried in his hands. Emily wasn't sure if she should continue talking. If she should just let it sink in? She placed her hand gently on his back and he flinched at the touch. She felt the sting of that straight into her heart. They sat in silence for a few minutes, before Spencer finally spoke.

"I think it would be best if you go home tonight," he said barely above a whisper.

Emily felt her heart shatter. She knew this wasn't going to end well. She didn't say a word. She just picked up her purse off the counter and left.


	14. Chapter 14

_Hopefully, I'll be able to add some more chapters tomorrow xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

J.J. sat on the edge of Luke's desk, talking quietly with him and Penelope. She was telling them something as they listened, riveted. Derek and Spencer came walking into the room together and immediately noticed the gossiping group.

"Uh, oh. Wonder what's going on," Derek said to Spencer, who shrugged.

He was being overly quiet today, but Derek just shrugged it off as stress with him new living arrangements. The team had still not figured out he was … or had been … dating Emily.

"I see the hen's chattering, what's up?" Derek asked as he moved to stand next to Penelope.

"Emily," Penlope replied.

Spencer's ears perked up. He didn't join the group, but he listened from him desk as he placed his bag down on the floor.

"What about her?" Derek said looking towards her office.

The door to Emily's office suddenly swung open and she stormed out, stopping to stare at the wide-eyed team.

"Conference room, now," she growled as she stomped off.

"Ahhh," Derek replied as he watched her disappear into the conference room. "Any ideas what's wrong?"

Spencer slouched a little. He had a strong suspicion he knew exactly what was bothering her. Everyone shook their heads.

"That wasn't a suggestion!" Emily called from the doorway.

Everyone jumped up and took off to the conference room. Spencer trailing slowly in the back. They hurried to their seats, Emily avoided eye contact. Penelope, usually helped with the briefing, but for some reason, Rossi was explaining it today instead.

The team listened intently, although they continued to glance at Emily, who's anger was palpable. Spencer felt incredibly guilty for the way he had treated her. He knew she was only trying to help, but once again he let his emotions conduct his brain and he hurt her.

As the team gathered up their belongings, Emily bolted from the room.

"She alright?" Derek asked Rossi.

"I don't know," he shrugged.

They all filtered out of the room, but Spencer lingered behind. Once his co-workers disappeared, he gently knocked on Emily's door.

"I'm busy," she called out.

Spencer didn't believe her, so he turned the door knob and walked into the room anyway. Her head snapped up from the desk and she glared at him with death rays in her eyes.

"I said I'm busy!" she said.

"Emily, about yesterday," he began.

"No, we are not doing this. Not here. Not now," she said throwing a hand up to stop him.

"I need to apologize," he tried.

"We have a case and need to leave in 10 minutes. I don't have time to listen to your bullshit excuses for why you are being a royal asshat. So, do me a favor and back off," she said looking back down at her paperwork.

He stood there watching her for a moment, debating what to do. Should he honor her wish, or just tell her he was sorry?

"Leave," she said.

Her voice broke when she said that. Her head down and her hair making a shield around her face. He thought he saw a tear fall onto the paper below. His heart ached to make this right, but he didn't want to make it worse, so he turned and left the room. The second the door closed, he heard her break.

(xxxxx)

The following evening, the team had separated to search for the unsub. He was in one of two places, so half the team went to the man's workplace, while the other half went to his cabin. Emily, Luke, and Rossi slowly approached the cabin. The flicker of a fireplace was the only light coming from the cabin.

They pulled their guns out and readied themselves as they circled the home with other law enforcement. The door was kicked open and the front team poured into the house. They slowly cleared the house.

They holstered their guns when all clear was called. Clearly, he wasn't at this place. Emily walked out the front door to go meet up with Luke and Rossi when the sound of gunfire erupted. There were shouts and gun explosions all around. A shot from Luke's gun, finally hit the unsub, who collapsed in a heap on the ground.

Officers ran to disarm the man and see if he was still alive. Rossi looked around the group for Emily, but she was nowhere in sight.

"Prentiss?" he called out.

Luke ran up next to him. "What's up?"

"Where's Emily?"

"Agent down! We have an agent down!" someone started yelling near the steps of the cabin.

Luke and Rossi glanced at one another before they dashed off in that direction. Lying in the dirt, gasping for breath, was Emily. A pool of blood seeping from her collarbone, just below her neck.

(xxxxx)

J.J., Derek, and Spencer walked out of the garage the unsub worked at. The place was empty, with the exception of the night watchman who said he hadn't seen that guy all day. They were on their way to the unsubs cabin, when J.J.'s phone rang.

"Hey Rossi, he wasn't there, we …" she said, before her face went pale. "What? Oh my God, ok, we are almost there."

Derek kept glancing at her from the driver's seat, while Spencer stared at her waiting to hear what was going on.

"What happened?" Derek asked, noticing J.J.'s shaky hands.

"Emily's been shot," she said.

Spencer's heart stopped and his mind went blank. He felt dizzy and nauseous. The rest of the five-minute ride was in silence. Only the sound of the speeding engine could be heard. They were pulling onto the dirt driveway, just behind an ambulance.

J.J. and Derek immediately jumped from the car and ran to Luke who was pacing. Spencer stood next to the SUV in a daze. He couldn't move. His Emily … his sweet, beautiful, loving Emily was hurt. He watched the EMT's running toward her. It was as if everything was in slow motion.

It seemed as though time had stopped. J.J.'s hand was covering her mouth as she settled into Derek's arms. Even from this distance he could see she was crying.

"No, Emily, no," he whispered softly as he found the strength to move.

He walked slowly over to his crying teammates. He moved around the car and there she was. Lying lifelessly on the ground, a pool of blood staining the dirt underneath her. His scream piercing the air as the EMT's pulled a sheet over her body.


	15. Chapter 15

_Thanks for the great reviews. I knew I had to get one more chapter in tonight before bed. Didn't want you to be waiting in anticipation_ _xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer's eyes shot open in the unfamiliar conference room of the Houston Police Department, where they were helping with the case. He had dozed off while trying to read through the latest victim's journal entries. His heart was pounding a mile a minute. He sat up straighter in the chair and realized that Luke and J.J. were watching him with curious eyes.

"Bad dream?" Luke said trying to hide his laughter.

Spencer nodded with embarrassment as he wiped the sweat of his forehead. He excused himself and rushed off to clean himself up. After rinsing his face with cold water and drying off, he knew he needed to see Emily.

By the time he had made it back to the conference room, the rest of the team was back offering more information about what they had found. Spencer felt all eyes turn to him, even Emily. Someone must have spilled the beans of his nightmare.

Spencer felt himself growing weak as his eyes fell on Emily. His dream flashing in front of his eyes. Her dead body lying on the ground. He felt dizzy.

"Hey kid, you alright?" Rossi asked.

Spencer looked at Rossi and slowly nodded.

"I think I need some fresh air," he said as he turned and fled the building.

He went straight to the SUV and hid behind it, where he bent over, trying to catch his breath. He felt a hand on his back. Her black boots appearing next to his conversed shoes.

"Spencer, are you alright?" she asked.

Her gentle, caring tone was back. He didn't deserve her.

"I … lost … you. You … you … were … dead," he said trying desperately to regain his breath.

"Spencer, calm down," Emily said reaching out to grab ahold of his hands.

She tried to get him to stand still, but he was pacing like a caged animal. His breathing rapid and his skin turning paler by the second. His eyes were glassy and panicked. She looked around for a moment, before pulling him roughly against her body. Her mouth immediately covering his.

She wasn't kissing him, per say. She was trying to get him to calm down and breath with her. But in his distress, he grabbed her face and kissed her feverishly. His body moving them to press against the back of the SUV. His hands tangled in her hair as he kissed away his fears.

Emily, realizing where they were, finally broke the kiss.

"Spence, we can't. Someone might see," she said though she still held him close.

"I don't care. I don't care if I get fired. Emily, I love you and I can't live without you. I am the biggest idiot in the world and there isn't enough apologies in the world to make up for what I've done to you. I don't deserve you. But God, do I need you so badly," he said kissing all over her neck.

Emily let out a small groan. She missed this intimacy. She squirmed from his kisses.

"Spencer, no, stop," she said.

He pulled away. A look of hurt in his eyes. She grabbed his hands and held them tight.

"Yes, I was angry at you and hurt that you dismissed me when I was trying to help. I even clarified that no matter what decision you made I would be there for you. Yet, you kicked me to the curb as if I was against you. Like I was an enemy," Emily said.

Spencer nodded his understanding.

"Spencer, we need to be able to talk to one another. To be able to share our thoughts and opinions without repercussion. We don't have to agree with one another, but you can't throw up a wall and shut me out when that happens. It doesn't mean I love you any less," she said running her hand across his cheek.

"I will always be in your corner, Spencer. I will always fight for you and with you. I will never fight against you. You in return need to do the same for me. We are a team, outside of the BAU. Just you and I. As much as you need me, I need you and it's incredibly painful to know how easily you can block me from your life when you don't like what I say."

Spencer listened quietly. Everything she was saying was spot on. He felt sheepish and ashamed.

"You're right and I'm truly very sorry for my behavior. Please forgive me and give me a chance to make it up to you. I promise I won't let you down," he said practically pleading.

She smiled at him and brushed a stray piece of hair out of his face.

"You don't have to make it up to me. I'm not going anywhere. I told you that before. I'm not leaving you Spencer Reid," she said placing her hand on his cheek. "You are stuck with me."

Spencer grinned that bright boyish grin, before leaning over to give her a quick kiss. After separating, they walked out from behind the SUV, both stopping in their tracks. Rossi stood with his arms crossed and his eyebrow raised. Emily felt herself turning deep red.

"So, how much of that did you hear?" she asked.

"Enough to know, you have some explaining to do," he said.

(xxxxx)

The case had been solved. The unsub arrested. The girls returned to their families. It was late when the team returned to the BAU office. Emily called out that they could come in after lunch tomorrow. They deserved some rest. She wandered into her office and dropped into her desk chair.

She watched the door waiting. She knew he was going to come talk to her. Spencer appeared in the doorway.

"Everyone left," he said as he walked in the office.

"Not everyone," she muttered.

"Yea, not everyone," the voice said from the doorway.

Spencer turned to see Rossi walking in. He closed the door behind himself. He walked over to the couch and sat down as if he had all the time in the world. He stared at them, alternating between the two.

"So, who's going to explain?" he asked with a straight face.

"Um … well, I suppose it'll depend on how much you heard," Spencer said pursing his lips.

"How long has this been going on?" Rossi said glossing over Spencer's comment.

Spencer glanced at Emily, who gave him the nod to go ahead and tell him.

"167 days, 11 hours, and 43 minutes," he said looking at his watch.

Rossi's eyes grew large.

"Wait … over 5 months!" Rossi said in shock.

"Before Hotch left," Emily said, in hopes to establish it wasn't while she was their leader.

Rossi nodded his understanding of her point.

"Does anyone know about this?" he asked waving his hand between the two.

"Not to our knowledge," Emily replied. "We've tried to keep it that way."

"Well, if you want to keep it a secret longer, I suggest not making out with one another in the middle of a case, behind our vehicles," Rossi said sarcastically.

"That was my fault. I had a moment of panic and I crossed the line. I know that it is strictly forbidden and if anyone should be blamed for that, it's me," Spencer said immediately.

Emily saw him stand straighter. It was moments like this she remembered why she fell in love with him. He might be meek and shy most of the time, but when it counted he was courageous and strong.

"I didn't exactly discourage the behavior," Emily added.

"Rossi, please don't tell Cruz about this. I promise I will start submitting for a transfer tomorrow. Please don't let them punish Emily," Spencer pleaded.

Rossi stood up and walked over to Spencer, who was eyeing him with begging eyes.

"Wow, no faith in me," Rossi said as he laid his hand on Spencer's shoulder.

Spencer furrowed his brow and glanced at Emily, before looking back at Rossi.

"I'm not going to tell anyone. I just wanted to know the details. This is your choice if you continue to keep this relationship. I certainly won't be the reason it ends," he said smiling. "Besides, I knew for a long time you two had the hots for each other. I just wondered when you boneheads were going to figure it out."

Spencer and Emily laughed in relief.

"Well come here and give me a hug. This is great news," he said holding out his arms.

Emily rolled her eyes, but got out of her chair and walked over to Rossi. He pulled her in to a hug and kissed her cheek. Rossi's grin couldn't grow any wider.

"I'll leave you two love birds alone. Make wiser choices, kids," he said before leaving the room.

Emily turned fully into Spencer's arms. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Well, that went better than I expected," she sighed.

Spencer nodded as he pulled her in for a kiss. It was gentle and loving, but didn't last long. They didn't want to get caught again.

"So, the nurse doesn't know we are back from our case yet," Spencer said as Emily played with a curl of his hair.

"Is that so," Emily replied.

"You wouldn't … want to go back to … your place … would you?" he said a little nervously.

Emily made a face like she was pretending to think. She could feel Spencer starting to shrink away with worry of rejection. She leaned up on her toes and pulled his ear close to her lips.

"Go ahead of me and get the bath ready. And by ready, you better be in it waiting for me," she said rubbing her hand across his already hardening dick.

Spencer nodded before rushing out of the office. Emily laughed as she went to her desk to pack up her belongings and paperwork.


	16. Chapter 16

_Glad you liked the last chapter – of course I couldn't kill Emily_

 _This chapter contains sexual content and is rated M for that reason. I finally figured out where I'm going to go with the story. It'll be somewhat like the real season 12, but different in what I think will be a fun way! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer walked through the door to his apartment to find water everywhere. He looked around at his soaking wet books and sighed.

"Kayla?" he called out.

The young nurse stomped out of the bedroom with a scowl on her face.

"What happened?"

"What happened? Your Mother happened! You did not disclose the fact that she is insane and violent!" the young nurse grumbled.

"I told you she had moments of severe paranoia along with frustrations from her Alzheimer's. What kind of nurse are you if you don't expect difficulties?" Spencer snapped.

Kayla's face dropped in disbelief.

"I'm done," she said as she picked her bag up off the floor and stormed to the front door.

"We have a contract! You can't just walk out of here!" he said, almost desperately.

"You can take that contract, Dr. Reid and shove it up your ass," Kayla said before slamming the door shut.

Spencer winced at the loud bang as he stood helplessly in the living room. He heard the pitter patter of feet behind him. Turning around he saw his Mom watching him with a nervous expression. She wasn't lucid clearly.

"Mom, what happened?" Spencer sighed.

"She was trying to poison the water through the pipes. This way we wouldn't suspect anything. I took care of it," Diana said as she chewed on her fingernail. "Did she leave?"

Spencer felt himself sag in frustration. "Yes, Mom. She left and won't be coming back."

"Good, now you can stay with me. Don't leave me with these spies. They are trying to silence me," she said looking around the living room as if expecting someone to be lurking in the shadows.

"Mom, I need to clean this up. Can you please go in the bedroom and read?" he asked her.

Diana didn't answer him, but she walked off and shut the bedroom door. Spencer was about to grab some towels when he heard a knock at his door. He peered through the peep hole and sighed. He opened the door and gave an exasperated smile.

"J.J. said something happened. I came to make sure everything was alright," Emily said still standing in the doorway.

Spencer pulled the door further open and Emily gasped.

"Oh, Spencer, what happened?" she said looking at the damage and then back at him.

"Mom thought the nurse was trying to kill us by putting poison in the water system," he said before walking a few steps away and lifting up a pipe. "So, she broke the pipe off."

Emily looked at him sympathetically.

"Where are the towels?" she asked as she tip-toed her way into the room.

"Em, you don't have –" he started.

"Spence, tell me where the towels are or I'm going to use that afghan to start mopping," she said with her hands on her hips.

Spencer stared at her for a minute. "Alright, you win. I'll get the towels if you can start moving all the books that need to be wiped into a pile."

Emily nodded and immediately got to work. Spencer hurried off to get towels.

(xxxxx)

They had just about finished up the cleaning, when Diana emerged from the bedroom. She looked at Emily and Spencer wiping the final books dry.

"Oh, no! Spencer, what happened? Did we have a leak?" she asked as she glanced at the pipes above her head.

"You could say that," he replied.

"The builders always do such shoddy work. No integrity or morals anymore. Just whatever is the cheapest. You spend thousands of dollars for this place and they don't even have the decency to make sure their plumbing systems work," she rambled.

"Mom, it's fine. It happens," Spencer stated.

"You should call the Super. He needs to fix this free of charge," Diana said indignantly.

"I already talked to him Mom. It's all taken care of," Spencer lied, never looking up from his work.

Emily watched the interaction between the two and it broke her heart. It was so easy for Spencer to spew out lies to his Mom and he handled her accusations with incredible amounts of patience. She couldn't imagine how scary that must have been for him as a child.

"Emily, I didn't know you were here," Diana said, suddenly noticing the extra face.

"Good to see you Diana. I came by to help Spencer clean up the leak," she replied with a smile.

"You are an angel. Scoop her up while you can Spencer," Diana said as she sat down on the couch to look through her scrapbook.

Emily looked at Spencer, who gave her a tightlipped smile. She reached out and gently squeezed his hand.

 _It'll be alright. We will do this together._

Spencer nodded and stood up. Holding his hand out, he helped Emily to her feet.

(xxxxx)

"Thank you again for helping me today," Spencer whispered in Emily's ear.

They were snuggled on the floor with a load of blankets underneath them. His face buried in her neck as she cradled him against her body.

"You're welcome for the last time. Don't thank me again," she said in a stern voice, but he knew she wasn't angry with him.

He placed a gentle kiss to her neck, making her shiver in response.

"Hey, don't get me riled up now," she said grinning.

Spencer chuckled lightly.

"So, have you looked into any more facilities for your Mom?" she asked as she rubbed circles along his arm.

"A few. I don't know, they all seem mediocre. I really don't want to send her back to Bennington, but at this point I can't seem to find a facility that I feel comfortable with," he said sadly.

"Do you want any help looking?" Emily offered.

Spencer lifted her hand to his lips and gave it a kiss. "No, but thank you for offering. Tomorrow a new nurse is stopping by for an interview. She seems great. Her name is Cassie. After that, I think I'm going to take a few days off to go visit some more places on my list," he said staring up at the ceiling.

"I dunno. Have you asked your boss if it's ok?" Emily teased.

Spencer rolled onto his side and smirked at her. Without saying a word, his hand slowly slid down her body. He slipped into her underwear and began gently caressing her. Emily's body tensed as she squirmed under his touch. She closed her eyes and bit her lip, while Spencer watched her.

"So, is that a yes?" he whispered next to her ear.

His tongue darted out and licked the lobe, before his teeth lightly bit the end.

"I don't know," she said huskily. "I think I need more convincing."

With that Spencer shoved his finger inside making her gasp. Spencer chuckled as he bent down and placed his mouth to hers. She immediately responded with such an intensity, Spencer nearly cried out. As he inserted another finger, Emily broke their kiss, arching her back.

"Am I getting closer to a yes?" he asked seductively.

Emily nodded. Too overcome with enjoyment to answer. With that Spencer pulled the covers over his head and disappeared beneath it. The moment his tongue touched her, she grunted. She could feel him laugh against her clit.

"Little brat," she hissed.

"You love it," he said from under the covers.

"Damn right I do," she said, making him laugh again. "Now, if you want that yes, I suggest you work a little harder."

She yelped as his teeth bit down on her clit gently, but he immediately soothed it over with kisses. By now she was riding his hand as he slipped in and out of her repeatedly. Emily's eyes clamped shut and she put a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming.

It didn't take more than three minutes before he could feel her nearing the end. Her body was stiffening and she was breathing rapidly as she pushed herself harder into his hand.

"Spence … oh God, Spence," she moaned.

He pressed his mouth as hard as he could against her and applied pressure with his tongue against the bone beneath. His fingers still curling and frantically pumping in and out of her. She gave one last groan when he felt her muscles squeeze his fingers and warm liquid slid out of her.

He gave her a minute to recover, before pressing against her clit again with pressure. She seized up again and shook as another orgasm claimed her. She felt him kissing her and lapping up her juices.

"One more," she whispered breathlessly.

Spencer, again, pressed and rubbed her clit until another wave rushed over her. This time despite trying to hold back, she breathed out "fuck." Spencer pulled her underwear back up before reappearing from under the blanket. He leaned over her smiling down at her exhausted, sweaty face.

She opened one eye and gave him a small smile. "Show off."

He grinned before placing a kiss to her lips. She parted to deepen the kiss. She could taste herself on his tongue. He dropped next to her again and placed his head in his propped up hand.

"So, Unit Chief Emily Prentiss, may I have a few days off?" he said running his fingers along her cheek.

"Well, SSA Dr. Spencer Reid, I was going to give you permission to go, no matter what. But this, my love, has earned you a promotion," she said kissing his hand as it passed her lips.

"Is that so? And what is this promotion, if I may ask?" he played along.

"It's a great job. It comes with some great benefits," she said sucking his finger into her mouth.

"Oh," he said watching her as his arousal grew.

"Would you like to see one of those benefits?" she purred as she threw her leg over his waste and climbed on top of him.

Spencer looked up as if considering the idea.

"What if I'm not interested in the offer," he teased.

"Oh, baby, this is an offer you won't turn down," she said as she kissed him feverishly.

They spent the remainder of that evening quietly making love to one another.


	17. Chapter 17

_So I guess everyone hated the idea I wrote in the previous chapter – so I removed it and replaced it with this. I'll go in a different direction. With none of Season 12 in the remainder of the story._

 _(xxxxx)_

It had been four days since Spencer started touring different facilities around the east coast, hoping to find one equal to the level of service that Bennington offered. Each night he would call Emily and update her on the progress. He seemed a little encouraged by a facility in Virginia and one in in Pennsylvania, but he still wasn't 100% sold.

"You don't have to make any decisions right now," Emily had told him. "Just keep making notes and do follow up visits in a few weeks. Maybe take your Mom with you and see her opinion."

After work, Emily decided to stop by and visit Spencer's Mom. She knew she probably needed to see a familiar face, plus Spencer would be getting home that evening and she couldn't wait to see him. Although Emily had a key, she knocked so she wouldn't startle Cassie.

The door clicked open and the sweet light skinned black woman smiled at her.

"Emily, it's a pleasure to see you. Dr. Reid isn't home yet, but I suspect you already knew that," she said brightly.

"Yes ma'am. I wanted to stop by and visit with Diana until he got home," Emily explained.

"Sure, come on in. She's actually having a great day. She's in the room reading right now. Would you like me to go get her?"

"No, it's alright. You take a rest. Sit down for a bit," Emily said as she walked towards Spencer's room.

She gently knocked on the bedroom door, before turning the knob and peeking in.

"Diana?" she said softly.

She saw Diana sitting by the far window in a chair, rocking gently as she read. She looked up and a smile stretched across her face.

"Emily," she said. "This is a lovely surprise. What brings you here? Spencer isn't home."

"I came to see how you were doing? I know he's been gone a few days and thought you might want some different company. I would've come by sooner, but we had a case," Emily said as she sat down on the end of Spencer's bed.

Diana cringed a bit. "I do wish you and my son had a different career. It worries me every second that you two aren't under this roof safely," she said.

Emily gave her a sympathetic smile. "I know it's hard, but we are very careful and we protect one another fiercely."

Diana closed her book and placed it on the table next to her. She turned her attention back to Emily.

"Where has Spencer been the past few days anyway?" she asked.

"Well, I think we were able to convince him that it was a good idea to place you back under the care of a facility," Emily said carefully.

"Oh thank Heavens. I'm ready to go back home. I miss my room and I miss my friends," she said almost looking child-like in her excitement.

"Well, you may not be going back to Bennington," Emily said a bit hesitantly.

"What? Why?" Diana frowned.

"Spencer wanted to look in the area to see if he could find a facility that was equal if not greater to Bennington. This way he'd be able to visit you more," Emily said.

"Don't get me wrong, I love Spencer and seeing him often would be a blessing, but I don't want to go somewhere else. I want to go home. This is not my home. These facilities he's looking at are not my home. I just want to go home," Diana said getting distressed.

"Ok, don't get upset. It's alright. I'll talk to Spencer when he gets home. We will get you back to Bennington ok?" Emily said getting up to kneel in front of Diana.

Emily grabbed her hands and squeezed them lovingly. Diana seemed to calm a little, though her eyes still seemed worried.

"Diana, I promise if that is where you want to go, we will take you back home," Emily assured her.

Diana nodded and gave Emily a quick smile.

"Are you hungry? How about I cook you something to eat or I could order out?" Emily offered trying to change the conversation and lighten the mood.

"I don't know," she replied, still clearly upset.

"Is there something you've really wanted, but haven't been able to eat?" Emily asked.

Diana seemed to be thinking it over. Suddenly a smile hit her lips and she looked to Emily.

"How about a cheesesteak? I haven't had one of those in years," she said.

"That sounds great. I'll go place an order and then we can eat together and watch the history channel. I heard they are having a special tonight about the dawn of communication. It sounded pretty fascinating," Emily said.

"That sounds delightful," Diana agreed.

"Alright, you go ahead and read some more. I'll come get you when everything is ready."

(xxxxx)

Emily placed the cheesesteaks onto a plate and placed them on the table. She walked over to the bedroom and knocked before entering.

"Diana, dinner is ready," she said when suddenly something hit her directly in temple.

She was stunned and didn't know how to respond. Her hand shot up to her head, when she heard screaming.

"You will not take me alive! Get out of my house! You don't belong here!"

Emily looked up just in time to see something else sailing her way. She ducked just in time for it to hit the door behind her.

"Diana! Diana calm down! You stop that throwing immediately!" Cassie shouted as she stormed into the room.

"She is here to kidnap me! Call the police!" Diana screamed.

"No one is here to hurt you Diana," Cassie said as she stood in front of her. "That is your son, Spencer's girlfriend."

"She's an imposter! That isn't her!" Diana insisted.

Cassie reached out and grabbed a small book by the bed. She flipped it to a page and showed it to Diana.

"Look, that is a picture of Spencer and Emily. She is not here to hurt you and she is not an imposter. Spencer would never allow anyone into this home to harm you," Cassie said as Diana hesitantly looked at the book.

While she was momentarily distracted, Cassie pulled out a needle and took Diana's arm gently in her hands. She pushed back Diana's sleeve and injected her with the substance.

"Alright, now why don't you lay down and get some rest. You can eat when you wake up," Cassie said as she helped an instantly drowsy looking Diana to the bed.

She helped Diana get in the bed and covered her up. Diana was already zoned out by the time Cassie finished tucking her in.

"Are you alright sweetie?" Cassie said rushing to Emily's side.

Emily still stood in the doorway, in shock, with her hand on her head. Cassie raced into the bathroom and came rushing out with a towel. She moved Emily's hand and placed the towel over the wound.

"Come sit down sweetie. I'm going to get you some ice," Cassie said walking Emily toward the living room.

Emily sat down on the couch and leaned back. Her head throbbing from the pain. She wasn't even sure what Diana threw at her, but it felt like a brick. When Cassie returned she took the towel away to access the wound.

"Luckily, it doesn't seem you'll need stitches. It's just a small, but deep cut. The head always bleeds the hardest. You should be alright with a bit of ice and some ibuprofen."

Cassie handed her a glass of water and two pills, which Emily gladly took. Once she finished, Cassie handed her the bag of ice.

"Lean back for a bit and ice it. I'm going to get a few supplies and get you patched up," Cassie said smiling.

Emily leaned back in the chair and tried to fight off the nausea. She wasn't sure if that just from the shock of the situation or the concussion she might have. Either way, it hurt terribly and her stomach was in knots. What would Spencer do when he finds out?


	18. Chapter 18

_Thank you for the compliments! I missed those when I took a bad path haha. So, we will stick with no prison direction_ _Most especially thank you Tannerose – that was by far the kindest thing anyone has ever said to me. I would find it an honor to be a writer in general, let alone one for Criminal Minds! Maybe some day!_

 _Enjoy and thanks for reading! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Emily left before Spencer returned home. She didn't want him to worry or stress about what happened. Diana didn't mean to hurt her. it was only a small cut, no concussion. But knowing Spencer, he would take this all on his shoulders, feel guilty, and blame himself. Then he would distance himself from her, because he would think this was the best for Emily. He was "protecting" her.

Emily had just gotten into her pajamas and was ready to climb into bed when she heard knocking at her door. For a moment, she went into FBI mode and looked to her gun safe. She walked quietly down the hallway and peered through the peep hole. She sighed, but opened the door anyway.

"Spencer, why are you here?" she said frowning.

He was looking at her wound. Everything she predicted was spelled out before her in his brown eyes.

"Cassie told me what happened. Why did you leave?" he asked as he walked into the room.

Emily closed the door and locked it back up. She walked past him and headed toward the kitchen. She needed some tea.

"Because I knew exactly how you'd react," she said as she filled her tea pot with water.

"And how would that be?" he said almost defensively.

"Exactly how you are right now. Stressed, concerned, anxious, guilt-ridden, upset. I mean, I could keep going if you'd like me to?" she said sarcastically.

"Of course, I'm all of those things. My Mother threw a candle stick at your head!" he said raising his voice.

"In the bedroom, with the candlestick, Mrs. Reid," Emily said, making herself giggle slightly.

"Emily, this is not a joke," Spencer said, clearly upset.

"Spencer, look at me," she turned to stare at him.

He couldn't stop looking at the wound. She grabbed his face and tilted it so he'd look in her eyes.

"What happened tonight was not anyone's fault. Your Mom is sick. She can't help what she does in those moments. She was scared and she was trying to protect herself," she said.

Spencer tried to move his head from her grip, but she held tightly.

"Most importantly, this is not _your_ fault either. You are trying to give your Mom the best life possible. You can't fault yourself for trying to bring her back to your world. That is incredibly kindhearted and selfless," she said tapping his heart with her hand.

She could see him blushing as he dropped his eyes from hers. She leaned forward and placed a kiss to his forehead. When he looked back into her eyes, they looked shy and grateful.

"You are one beautiful soul, Spencer Reid," she said smiling brightly at him.

Spencer pulled her against his body and gently kissed her. All of his worries and fears disappearing. She always knew what to say to break down his walls. When their kiss broke, Emily took the tea pot off the stove and turned off the flame.

"I wanted some tea, but now I'd rather have something else instead," she grinned flirtingly at him.

"Oh, and what's that?" Spencer asked as he gripped her hips tightly.

"In the bedroom, with no clothes, Mr. Peacock," she said.

They both laughed as Spencer lifted Emily into his arms and carried her off to the bedroom. He placed her down on his bed and climbed over top of her, kissing her feverishly. As he pulled away, he ran a gentle hand along her cheek.

"Emily, I love you," he said very seriously.

"I love you," she whispered before bringing him back to her lips.

Each kiss, each caress said so much more than words could. They made slow love to one another that night. Allowing their bodies to express how deep their love for one another truly went.

(xxxxx)

After much debating and a few meltdowns, Spencer finally got in touch with Bennington. He was blessed to find out that they had a room available on the same floor Diana had been in previously. In fact, it was nearly identical to the one she was in before, so the transition back would be easy for her.

Spencer had to take her alone as Emily didn't have a good excuse for them to both take a vacation to Las Vegas. She knew Garcia would be suspicious and start searching. So, Spencer went alone. It had been very hard for him, but he'd managed to get her settled in within a few days.

She had instantly seemed at ease. She even cried when she walked into her room for the first time.

"Mom, I'm heading back home today. Is there anything else I can get you before I go?"

"Did you buy stamps?" she asked.

"Everything is in your stationary drawer. All your pens, paper, envelopes, addresses, and stamps," he said opening the drawer.

Diana surveyed the room to make sure nothing was missing. He saw her eyes tearing up so he walked over to kneel in front of her.

"Hey, it's going to be alright now," he said holding her hand.

"I know, I know," she said patting his hand as a few tears escaped. "I'm just … I'm so proud of you Spencer. You have grown into such a fine young man and I can't thank you enough for all you do for me. I know it is difficult at times, but you have never given up on me."

Now, Spencer was crying softly as well. He kissed his Mom's hand as he tried to gain control of his emotions.

"Mom, I will always be here for you. Anytime you need me just ask and I will come as quick as I can," he said sniffling.

"I don't deserve you," she said smiling at him.

"Don't say that. You are a great Mom and I couldn't be more honored to be your son," he said wiping a tear away.

Diana pulled her son into her arms and held him tightly. The two of them crying gently. Spencer gave his Mom a kiss on the check and stood up.

"I'll call you tomorrow to see how you are doing," he said.

She nodded as he walked off to the door.

"Spencer," she called out.

He turned to look at her. "Yes?"

"Don't let Emily go. She is your soul mate," Diana said as more tears slid from her eyes.

This brought tears back to Spencer's eyes. He gave her a smile and waved before leaving.

(xxxxx)

 _Three weeks later …_

The team had been called to Colorado to investigate the murders of 4 men that were found in a mountainous region. They had exhausted nearly all of their efforts, but still couldn't figure out a lead or why these men were chosen.

They didn't look similar, they had different backgrounds and lifestyles. It seemed as though they were chosen at random. While they all sat around the local PD irritated and tired, Emily's phone rang.

"You're on speaker, Garcia," Emily said as she placed her phone on the table.

"You guys are not going to believe what I just found," she said, sounding almost panicky.

"What is it?" Emily asked as she looked across the table at Rossi.

"That cabin where the bodies were discovered," she began. "We found out it belonged to the Miller family."

"Yes, we know and the Miller family checked out as clear from any involvement," Emily replied.

"Yes, yes I know. I was looking through some records regarding the house. I had a thought that maybe there was something significant about the house itself. Maybe when it was built or something," she said.

"And?" Rossi asked, impressed with her thought process.

"Back in 1988, there was a murder in that home. Turns out the owner killed his wife and tried sinking her body in a nearby river. Unfortunately, or fortunately, he did a bad job of hiding the body as it was discovered by some fisherman. The police traced it back to the owner who was sent away to prison for manslaughter. He left behind a daughter who was sent to a foster home," Penelope explained.

"Garcia, this is great information, but why is this significant?" Emily asked interrupting her story.

"Daniel and Laila Adams," Penelope said somberly.

Spencer looked straight at Emily. His heart stopped momentarily at the news. Everyone, except for Luke seemed shaken by this evidence.

"Who is Daniel and Laila Adams?" Luke asked.

"Their daughter, Catherine Adams, grew up to be one of the most dangerous hitwomen this world has ever encountered. It is said that she's been responsible for over 200 deaths," Rossi explained.

"So, the murder could be this Catherine Adams?" Luke asked.

"No," Spencer said gruffly.

Luke noticed everyone looking at Spencer with concern in their eyes.

"Cat is in prison currently. Solitary confinement, to be exact," Penelope stated.

"So, it's someone who admires her?" Luke said, a bit unsure.

"Or someone working for her," Spencer said.

"There's more. Guys, look at the victim's names," Penelope said.

"Thomas Ryan, Garrett Dennison, Alexander Everett, and John Imar," Derek read out loud.

Spencer's head dropped in realization. The team turned their attention to him.

"What is it? I don't get it," Derek said.

Spencer stood up and walked over to the marker board. He grabbed a green marker and circled the first letter of the men's last name. R – D – E – I.

"Shit," Emily said as she saw it.

Spencer wrote underneath, R – E – I – D. He turned around to see the shock on everyone's face.

"So, this is more than just murders. This is personal and a message," Rossi stated.

"This is revenge," Spencer said. "This is about me."


	19. Chapter 19

_Thanks for the reviews! Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer stared silently out the window as their jet flew to Iowa. Emily had been on the phone with Rossi who had stayed in Colorado with the team to investigate the murders. After hanging up with him, she walked over to sit down across from Spencer.

Spencer didn't seem to notice she had sat down.

"Spence," she said gently.

He seemed to startle slightly at the sound of her voice. He looked across the table at her and gave a small smile.

"It'll be alright," Emily assured him. "Well figure out who's doing this."

"At the expense of how many lives?" Spencer replied.

"You can't think about that right now. We will do what we do best and nail this scum bag," Emily said.

Spencer bit his bottom lip and looked back out the window. She could tell that he was still concerned about something. She knew it was probably not a good idea, but she stood up and moved to sit next to him.

Spencer turned to look at her questioningly. Emily reached out and pushed his scraggily ear-length hair out of his face.

"I'll be with you the entire time," she promised as her hand lingered on his warm cheek.

He leaned into her palm and shut his eyes.

"She gets to me. I don't know why or how, but she is one of the only unsubs I've ever encountered that can rattle me," he confessed.

"That's why I'll be there. I won't let her get to you," she said.

Spencer closed his eyes at her words. Emily ran her hand through his hair again, before placing a gentle kiss on his lips. When they parted, Emily laid her head down on his shoulder. He knew she was taking a risk being close to him like this, but he needed her close and as always, Emily knew that.

He gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head and grabbed her hand, tangling their fingers together. He looked back out the window for the remainder of the flight, allowing his mind to relax with thoughts of Emily rather than Cat.

(xxxxx)

Spencer stared into the empty interrogation room of Mount Pleasant Women's Correctional Facility. His hands were beginning to sweat and he felt incredibly nervous. Emily gently patted him on the back to reassure him she was there.

Inside the room, a door had opened and one of the officers was leading a disheveled Cat into the room. Her hair was longer than their previous encounter as well as straggly and unkempt. Her face was pale and the deep circles under her eyes showed her lack of sleep.

"She looks like shit," Emily whispered. She turned to Spencer and looked at him as he gazed through the glass. "You ready?"

He glanced down at her with a frown. He took a deep breath and nodded. They swung the door opened and Spencer walked into the room, Emily following closely behind.

"Spencie, I've been waiting for you," Cat purred as she smiled at him.

Spencer stood staring at her with his arms crossed across his chest.

"I see you finally got my message. I mean, took you long enough," Cat said.

"What do you want?" Spencer asked.

"You aren't being a gentleman. You didn't even ask how I'm doing?" she said leaning back in her chair.

"I don't care how you are doing," he replied flatly.

"Is he always this uptight?" Cat asked as she turned her attention to Emily.

"Cat, we aren't here for pleasantries. You know something that we need answers about," Emily said, not taking her bait.

"Oh, sweetie, I know a lot of things. Things I probably shouldn't know," she said grinning evilly. "I'm going to need you to be more specific about what information you need from me and what you'll do for me in return."

"Who is killing those men in Colorado?" Emily asked.

Cat turned her attention back to Spencer. She didn't answer Emily.

"Why don't you sit down?" Cat said smiling at him.

"No, thank you," he said staring her down.

"I was just being polite. It wasn't a question," she said before kicking out the chair across from her.

Spencer grabbed the handle of the chair and sat down.

"I know it's been a while since we've seen each other, but I know you remember how this works. So, let's just skip the part where you try to get random information out of me and I don't answer, and get to the fun," Cat said in her false sweet voice.

"Same rules as last time?" Spencer asked, remembering her game.

Cat hummed as she pretended to think. "No, slightly different rules. This time you get four hours to ask me anything you want," she began.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "There's a catch though."

Cat giggled. "Too smart for me. Yes, there is a catch. The catch is my partner has someone you love dearly. In four hours, _if_ you guess my secret correctly, they will be released unharmed. If not – " she made her hand into a gun and pretended to shoot herself.

"Do I get to know who you kidnapped?" Spencer asked, his heart racing.

"I could tell you … or you could guess," she grinned. "It shouldn't be too hard for you though. It's not like you have a lot of friends and I mean, as far as family goes – well …"

Emily felt her fists tightening. She wanted to punch Cat straight in the face. She was happily distracted by her phone buzzing in her pocket. She pulled it out and looked to see who was calling.

"Oh, look that's probably the call now," Cat said still staring Spencer in the eye.

Spencer looked away to glance back at Emily.

 _I'll be right back. Don't let her get to you._

Spencer knew what she was telling him. He nodded before turning back to look at Cat, who was staring at him with a knowing smile on her face.

"So, when does this start?"

Cat held out her hand, expectantly. Spencer knew immediately what she was asking for. He quickly slipped his watch off and handed it to her. Cat looked at the watch and held up a finger.

"Go ahead. Oh, by the way, I forgot. You only get one guess. So, you better make it positive of your answer," she said before she put her hand down.

Emily came back into the room, her face completely pale. Spencer glanced and noticed her expression right away. He stood up from the table and followed her out of the room.

"Awe, but I want to see his face when he finds out who it is," Cat called out as the door shut.

Emily was leaning against the wall. Her breathing was shallow and she was shaking. This was completely out of character for her. Spencer felt like his legs were stuck in cement. He suddenly couldn't walk any further. Emily took a deep breath and turned to face him. Tears were threatening to spill from her eyes.

"Is it my Mom?" Spencer asked as he tried to remain composed.

Emily shook her head no. By now the tears had escaped.

"Who is it Emily?" he said, sounding angry.

Emily's lip trembled. "Henry."


	20. Chapter 20

_You know it's funny, I actually feel bad for Cat. I think she needed a Spencer in her life, but always found unsubs. Don't get me wrong – when he choked her in the show, I was clapping. But deep down inside, I think she wishes she was good enough for him. I think she wishes that he would love her and would save her from her shitty past. She sees how good he is and since she can't reach that high, she tries to make him bad so he'll be on the same level as her – giving her a better chance of him loving her._

 _Thanks for the reviews! Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer stormed back into the interrogation room and slammed his hands down onto the table. Cat didn't flinch.

"He is a child!" was all he could think to scream.

Cat smiled at him and leaned forward.

"I guess you better start asking those questions if you want to see him again," she said.

Spencer's jaw clenched tightly shut as he fought back the urge to strangle her. She was watching him with a gleam in her eye. She was clearly amused by his anger.

"If you harm even one hair on his head, I swear to God, I will rip you apart piece by piece until you are begging to be put out of your misery," Spencer growled.

Cat bit her lip. "Oh, I like this Spencer Reid. Bad looks good on you, doctor," she said seductively.

Spencer had to leave the room for a minute. He knew if he didn't get his anger under control, Henry would be dead. He slammed the door shut and swung his fist into the wooden table. It splintered under him, blood dripping from his knuckles. One knuckle clearly broken, by the near instant swelling and bruising.

He felt Emily's hands pulling him away from the table. He turned on her ready to fight, but the moment he looked into her eyes, he collapsed. He slid to the floor and buried his head in his knees. Emily sat next to him and gently rubbed his back.

"We'll get him back. She won't win. You are so much smarter than she is. She is cold and calculated, but you are brilliant and clever. You beat her before, you can beat her again," Emily assured him.

Her voice still sounded distressed, but Emily was great at pushing aside her emotions. She was the master of compartmentalization. He looked up at her and had to fight the urge to kiss her. He needed the outlet and her lips always seemed to ease his worries.

"Sit here for a few minutes. I'll get someone to clean up your hand and then we go back in to talk to her," Emily said.

Spencer nodded as she hurried off.

(xxxxx)

Spencer and Emily walked back into the room. Cat looked up and smiled as if they were great friends.

"Welcome back, I was wondering if you were ever going to come back," she said.

Spencer sat down in the chair across from her while Emily surveyed from off to the side.

"Hurt your hand?" Cat asked as she looked at the gauze around his hand.

 _You're lucky it wasn't your face._

"The secrets you have, how many of them are there and how many do I need to guess in order to save Henry," Spencer said ignoring her question.

Cat looked up at the ceiling in thought.

"Well, there are certainly a bunch of them, but let's go with two significant secrets, but only one of those secrets is the key to Henry's release. Guess the wrong one and oops," Cat shrugged.

"Are both secrets about me?"

"Yes."

"Do they involve you?"

"One of them does. The other … not so much," she said.

"Did I do something?"

Cat started laughing. "One of them you certainly did something … a lot of things."

"The other?"

"I suppose you could say in a roundabout way you did something."

"What does that mean? The secret isn't something I did specifically?" he said furrowing his brow.

"Not per say."

"So, it's not an action?" Cat shook her head no. "Is it something I said?"

"Getting warmer," she grinned.

"Something I said that upset you? Like having found your father?"

Cat frowned at that.

"You are on the right track, Dr. Reid," she said.

"It's a characteristic. You want me to figure out how you see me, because you think you know the real me," he said staring into her eyes.

"This is why I love playing games with you Spencie. You are so smart," she said tilting her head slightly to the side.

"I'm a liar," he said.

"Is that your guess?" she asked raising an eyebrow at him.

"No, it's just a question," he replied.

"No, that's a guess. So, if you want the answer to that, it's Henry's life on the line," Cat stated.

Spencer looked down at the table for a moment and back up at Cat.

"We all arrested you. Why focus only on me?"

"I guess you are just lucky," Cat said smiling at him.

"No, there's more than that," he said squinting at her.

Cat looked at Emily and a strange smile slid across her face. She looked down at the watch and back up at Spencer.

"Are you single, Spencer?" Cat asked.

"I thought I was asking the questions?" he said, calmly.

"You are. But I'm asking you a question now. Are – you – single?" she emphasized.

"No," he answered flatly.

"Does the team know you are seeing someone?" Cat asked leaning forward on the table.

"No," he said leaning towards her.

"Why is that?" she asked staring deep into his eyes.

Neither of them blinked. They just kept staring at each other.

"My personal life is private," he said.

"Ok, well, I want to see if you can guess secret number two. Here's the fun part, I want you to call your team. You are allowed to guess together, _but_ you must all come to an agreement on what that secret is," Cat said grinning.

Spencer stared at Cat for a few more moments, before he turned to Emily. She seemed to be considering whether or not to do this.

"What happens if we guess wrong?" Emily asked.

"Oh, yeah, I guess I forgot to mention. There are explosives set to go off somewhere. You guess, I tell you where the bombs are located and you can save some more lives," Cat said.

Emily sighed in frustration, but pulled out her phone and face-timed Morgan.

"Hey, Emily what's going on?" Derek asked as he answered the call.

"Is everyone with you?" Emily asked.

"No, we sent J.J. back home. Penelope is going to pick her up at the airport. Rossi, Alvez, and I are heading back to the station. What's up?"

"Pull over. We need you to listen carefully," Emily said before explaining the current situation.

The entire time, Spencer watched Cat, trying to read her and figure out what she was hiding. She just stared back at him amused. Finally, Emily turned the phone so they could see Cat and Spencer.

"Great to see you all again," Cat said smiling at the phone.

"Shut up. You're lucky I don't come there and snap your skinny white ass in half," Derek growled.

"Is that anyway to talk to the woman who is about to help you save lives?" Cat said with mock offense.

"You set up the bombs! They wouldn't be in danger if it weren't for you!" Luke said.

"Me? No, I've been in solitary confinement for 6 months. I haven't done anything," she said shaking her head.

"Look, enough of the dancing around. This secret is about me, is about someone else as well?" Spencer asked.

"Yes."

"Someone on the team?" Spencer said.

"Yes."

"Did I do something to them?"

Another big smile spread across her lips. "Yes."

Spencer could see the sparkle in her eye. He squinted to study her further.

"Is it about me?" Derek asked.

"No."

"Me?" Luke asked.

"No."

"Me?" Rossi said.

"No."

"J.J., Hotch, or Penelope?" Derek said.

"No, no, and no."

"It's me," Emily said realizing what was going on.

From the smile on Cat's face, she knew that Emily had figured it out.

"Why is this important to you?" Emily said as her heart raced.

"It's very important to me, for many reasons. One of them being that I don't like liars and people who are deceitful. You say you love your team and look at them like family, yet you hide the truth from them every day," Cat said.

Derek looked between Luke and Rossi to see if they had any idea what was going on.

"Do me a favor, Agent Alvez, open up your email and look for a message from Angel of Truth," Cat said. "When you do, make sure you hold it up for everyone to see."

Spencer looked at Emily who had turned pale. What in the world was sent to them and how quickly was her career going to be destroyed? Luke could be seen pressing buttons on his phone. Suddenly he let out an audible sigh.

"Hold it up for everyone!" Cat demanded.

Luke looked at Rossi's phone and Spencer saw the regret in his eyes. He slowly lifted the phone. On it was a clear picture of a naked Emily straddling Spencer on his floor. The blankets wrapped around their lower half, but the top half clear. Spencer's mouth was pressed against Emily's collarbone, while her head was tilted back in pleasure.

"Keep flipping through, there are plenty more. There's even a video for you to enjoy," Cat said happily.

Luke slammed his phone closed, refusing to look at any more pictures. Spencer wasn't sure if he was angry at Cat, him and Emily, or all of them.

"Why don't you tell them how long this has been going on," Cat prompted.

Spencer looked at Emily who was rendered speechless. Her mouth was wide open and her eyes large as saucers. He wanted to hold her and shelter her from this humiliation. This reminded him of his childhood and he didn't want her to suffer like he did.

Spencer licked his lips and sighed. "Emily and I have been together for 6 months."

He could see the shock on Derek's face and he swore there was disappointment as well. He felt awful. He not only kept this secret from his employers, but he kept it from his family, from his big brother. The guilt was eating him alive.

"Well, since secret number two has been shared amongst you all, you may want to send the bomb squad over to Bennington," Cat said with a smirk on her lips.

Spencer looked up at her and felt his stomach clench tightly. He jumped from his seat and ran from the room. As soon as he exited, he dropped to floor and began to dry heave into a nearby trash can. This felt like a nightmare. His godson kidnapped, his Mom in danger of being blown up, his affair with Emily now public knowledge. Why could nothing in his life go right? What the hell had he done to deserve this?

He suddenly felt Emily rubbing his back. He sat down, avoiding eye contact with her. He had ruined her career. She was going to be fired and it would tarnish her reputation. Her life in the FBI was officially over because of him.

"I'm so sorry," Emily said before he had a chance to apologize.

"You're sorry? Em …. Emily, we have been outed. We'll be fired and this is all my fault," he said beginning to hyperventilate.

"Now stop that! Don't you dare take all of this on you. You weren't the only one in that picture. I chose to sleep with you and even knowing this outcome I would do it again," she said adamantly.

Spencer looked at her with confusion in his eyes.

"Spencer, I love you. I love you more than anything in this world. In fact, you are my world. Fuck this job, fuck Cat, fuck anybody that stands in the way," she said.

Despite the dark situation, a smile crept up his face. How did she do that? No matter how terrible a situation was, Emily always knew how to make him smile.

"I love you too, Em. I never thought love like this existed. I thought it was all fairytales and nonsense, but you prove me wrong time and again. I would catch a falling star for you," he said, remembering her story she shared many years ago on the jet.

She gave him a quick kiss and stood up.

"Alright, one secret down and one more to go. We can do this. Let's get Henry back," Emily said.


	21. Chapter 21

_Sorry for the little delay. Been busy at work and haven't been feeling all that well. Hope you enjoy this chapter – it was harder to write than I imagined._

 _Thanks for the reviews! Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Emily's phone rang as her and Spencer tried to calm themselves down. She looked at it to see Derek's name. She showed Spencer the phone and sighed.

"Hey," she said. "I'm really sorry. We never wanted you to find out like that." Emily felt the guilt tearing at her already fragile heart.

"Prentiss, stop. I know why you hid the relationship and though a part of me wishes you would've told us, I understand. I know it wasn't personal. I … we just called to tell you that we support you two and we will do all we can to protect this secret," Derek said.

Emily looked at Spencer stunned.

"Really? You aren't mad?" Spencer said.

"Like I said, I know why you needed to keep it hidden. That being said, you do know I had to tell one more person in order to help you," Derek said. They could hear the hesitation in his voice and knew immediately who they were talking about.

"Garcia," Emily said looking at Spencer.

"She's already gone through everyone's emails and cleared out the messages. Nobody of importance saw that picture. She also flagged any messages sent with that file name. It'll be treated as a virus and blocked from any emails. Hopefully, by the time we catch Cat's partner she won't realize we stopped it," Derek explained.

"I truly appreciate that. There aren't enough words to thank you all," Emily said feeling choked up by their protectiveness.

"Anytime, we love you guys," Derek said.

"We love you too. We'll be in touch," Emily said before hanging up. She looked at Spencer and gave him an encouraging smile. "Should we continue?"

"Yes, but let me go in alone. I have a feeling she's holding back with you in the room," he said. "This conversation … it sparked a thought. I need to go in alone."

"You sure?" she hesitated.

"I'll be alright. I promise," he said confidently.

Emily nodded. Spencer took a deep breath and walked back into the room. Cat smiled brightly at him.

"Where's your girlfriend? Did she get fired?"

"Do I know your partner?" he asked folding his hands together.

"Oh, the serious FBI agent has returned," she mocked.

Spencer didn't bite. He just stared at her waiting for a response.

"Yes, you know them," Cat replied.

"Do I know them from a case?"

"Yep," she said sounding bored.

"Did I do something to them or a family member?"

"Maybe, but really you are getting completely off topic here. Like your train is heading north when it should be heading south," she said as her eyes flickered down for a moment.

A small smile hit her lips. He noticed this and stared at her. He hadn't expected to jump right into this, but here goes nothing …

"I saw that," he whispered.

"Saw what?" she asked with no emotion.

"For a moment, there you slipped. Your defenses dropped and I saw it," he said, still whispering.

"Why are you whispering?" she whispered back.

Spencer glanced over his shoulder and leaned closer to her. She leaned forward as well.

"When you mentioned the train heading north when it should be heading south. I saw the look in your eye and you looked down," he said.

"There's a point to this stupid analysis I assume," she said staring uninterested at him.

"Just because you and I are drastically different, doesn't mean I don't feel it too," he said staring at her.

The wall dropped again. Her face showed a small amount of panic before she masked it.

"Oh is this the part where you declare your undying love for me and rescue me from this nightmare," she said in a fake dramatic accent.

"You don't have to admit it. I can see it in your eyes. I saw it the first time we met and I see it now. For whatever reason, whether I like it or not, the connection we have is undeniable," Spencer said barely above a whisper.

Cat let out a laugh and then began clapping.

"Bravo, bravo Spencer. Who knew you were such a good actor," she said.

Spencer stood up and walked over to the door. He swung it open and leaned into the room.

"I need you to trust me," he said to Emily.

She looked at him with an open-mouth, unsure what to say.

"Please go away and check on the others. Give me 20 minutes with her. I can break her, but she needs to believe it," he said.

Emily felt jealousy surge through her blood. Just what sort of convincing was he planning on doing with her?

"Emily, I love you with all of my heart. Trust me," he said instantly.

Emily hesitated, but finally turned and walked off to another part of the facility. Spencer shut the door and walked over to grab the chair. He slid it over to the wall, took off his suit jacket and hung it over the top of the camera. He climbed back down and walked over to Cat who was watching him suspiciously.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

He untucked his white dress shirt and lifted it up. She looked at his body and back at him with a furrowed brow.

"You see I have no wires. There is no camera showing in this room and I sent Emily away to make phone calls. It's just you and me. It's time to lay our cards out on the table once and for all," he said seriously.

"Like I don't know this is a trap," Cat said.

"If this were a trap, would I do this?" he leaned across the table, grabbed her by the shirt, and placed a kiss on her lips.

It was tight and close-mouthed, but it was a kiss none the less. He broke away from her and sat back down at his chair. Cat lifted her hand and wiped at her mouth. Her eyes showing her confusion and anger.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she growled at him.

"What I know you've wanted to do since we met," he replied huskily.

She looked at him unsure what to make of this drastic turn of events. Spencer picked up his chair and moved it closer to her. He sat back down and leaned in towards her, making her stiffen.

"Look at me," he said. "Look at my eyes while I tell you this. You will see I'm telling you the truth."

Cat looked at him, still leaning away from him.

"I feel it too. I felt it at the dinner. There were moments when we talked that I knew you understood me better than anyone else. I saw the hurt in your eyes over your father … and … I wanted to take that pain away from you. I know what it's like to have a horrible father.

I never wanted to pretend your dad was in that van. I thought it was low of him to go that far. I tried to stop Morgan and warn you, but it was too late. The look of betrayal in your eyes killed me. Don't get me wrong, Cat. I can't overlook the fact that you murder people for a living.

But I also can't deny the fact that whether I want to or not, I have feelings for you. I love Emily and I'm sure now we will be forced to end the relationship, which is fine because it wasn't going anywhere anyway. She's beautiful and smart, but she doesn't get me.

She will never understand my pain and my fears. She will never be able to connect on a deep level with me. Unfortunately, with my damn luck, the one person who does get me is spending the rest of her life in prison," he said as tears filled Cat's eyes.

The tears slowly slid down her cheek as she took in everything he had said. She wiped a tear away as she tried to regain her composure. Spencer didn't move from his seat. He just watched her.

"So, is that your guess," she said unevenly.

"That wasn't a guess, Cat. That wasn't for a stupid game. That was me being honest with you in hopes that you in return will be honest with me. I don't expect you to suddenly tell me where my Godson is. I know you as well as you know me.

You aren't going to tell me where he is or who has him no matter what I guess. I knew this the second I walked in here," he said.

"Then why did you come and why are you still talking to me?" she snapped.

He looked down at his shoes as if embarrassed before looking up at her.

"To confirm it," he said shakily.

"To confirm what?" Cat asked with her arms crossed.

He scratched at his head and looked back down at his shoes. Cat watched him before she leaned towards him.

"Confirm what?" she said irritated.

He looked up at her. "What I've known all along. That I love you," he whispered.

Cat looked at him puzzled for a moment. She sat back in her chair, her breathing growing more rapid as she nibbled at her fingernails. She seemed to be internally battling something.

"Look, I've said enough. I need to go help my team find my Godson," he said getting up and pushing his chair back in.

He turned and started to walk away when he heard. "Wait." He turned back around and saw her standing by the table. She seemed overcome with emotions again.

"Is this some kind of sick payback joke?" she whispered.

"You know that answer," he said.

"Will you come back and visit?" she asked.

"No," he replied honestly.

More tears slipped from her eyes at that answer. She walked closer to him until they were past the line of personal boundaries. Spencer looked down at her as she looked up at him.

"You won't find him. She's very good at what she does. For what it's worth, I wish I didn't enjoy torturing men. I have tried to stop before, but I can't," she whispered.

"I believe that," he replied.

Spencer started to walk toward the door and turn the knob when she spoke again.

"It'll never be over with us Spencer. Until I am dead, I will always try to destroy your life," she said.

He nodded before leaving the room. He quickly rushed off to find Emily. It took only a few minutes before he found her pacing outside. She stopped and looked at him expectantly.

"Her partner is a woman. Someone from a case in the past and she must have some sort of training because she said we'd never find Henry due to the fact her partner was very good at what she does," he said.

"Let's head back," Emily said.

When they climbed into the SUV, Emily was startled when Spencer pulled her close and kissed her passionately. She responded in an almost relieved way. When she finally pulled away from him, she looked at him with confusion.

"What was that for?" she asked.

"Because I love you and the things I had to say in there …" he trailed off.

"What did you say?" she asked.

"I'll tell you everything word for word on the way. Let's just get going. I want to go home and find Henry," he said.

Emily nodded as she started the car and they drove off for the plane.


	22. Chapter 22

_I wanted to write this sooner! Been spending most of my free time watching Criminal Minds with my mom – got her addicted to it too – go me! Thanks for sticking with me and for all the great comments!_

 _Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

"Are you ok?" Spencer asked from his seat across from her on the plane.

Emily was looking out the window. Her eyes distant and her nail beds were picked at. She snapped out of her trance when she heard his voice.

"Yea, I'm ok," she said softly.

"Emily," he said, knowing she wasn't being honest.

"Spencer," she started.

"Is this about Cat?" he said gently, though he knew the answer.

Emily went to protest, but she saw that he knew the truth. It was no point lying to him. She shrugged.

"I know it didn't mean anything. I do, I really do," she said sounding upset.

"But …"

"I don't know. I guess just the thought of her kissing you," she said looking down at her lap.

"That can't be the only reason. I told you it was closed mouth and was like kissing Rossi. There was nothing there at all," he said as he stood up and moved to sit next to her.

Once he sat down he grabbed her hands and held them in his. She looked into his eyes and frowned.

"Em, what is it?" he said moving closer to her.

She looked embarrassed and couldn't look him in the eye.

"It's not about Cat, per say. It's just … when I saw you talking to her it was the first time I realized how far into this I really am. The fact that I could be jealous of Cat … Spencer I realize how terrified I am to lose this … to lose you," she said biting her bottom lip.

Spencer was stunned at Emily's confession. She was never vulnerable like this. Though he knew she could love, he didn't think she was capable of this deep of an attachment. Without any words, Spencer stood up and pulled her to the back of the jet.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

He put his finger to his lips and continued to pull her. When they reached the kitchenette, he opened the bathroom door and shoved her inside. Before she had a chance to say anything, the door was closed and Spencer was kissing her passionately. His hands cupping her face while his body pressed against hers.

His hands left her neck, but were replaced by his lips. He sucked at her skin as his hands unbuttoned her pants. He moved back up to her mouth after pushing her pants and underwear down, gravity taking them to the ground. Emily unbuckled his belt as their mouths moved in perfect synchronization.

Within seconds, Spencer's clothes lay on the floor with Emily's. He bent down slightly to lift her into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. He pushed her back firmly against the wall to help hold her in place. His hand guided his aching member into her. The kiss broke as they both moaned out their pleasure of him sinking deep inside of her.

"I love you so much," Spencer said breathlessly. "I will never leave you. Even if something ever happens to me, I will always be with you. You have my heart and soul, Emily Prentiss. Forever."

Emily roughly grabbed his face and kissed him feverishly. Tears slid down her cheeks as they kissed.

"God, I love you. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone in this world. It scares the shit out of me," she said as she kissed all over his face.

Spencer was moving slowly in and out of her as she moved her kisses to his neck. He felt her sucking and nipping at his skin and it made him push harder into her. She gave a small yelp.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"No be rough. I need it. I need more than just our normal love making. I need you to fuck me, please," she begged into his skin.

"Emily, you are the only person who can get me so fucking turned on with just your words," he said as he adjusted his grip on her.

"Does that mean you like when I talk dirty to you?" she asked nipping at his ear.

"I don't know to be honest, but I like the sound of your voice and …" he trailed off, seeming suddenly shy.

"What? Spencer tell me what you like. It's ok, I won't laugh at you," she said brushing hair out of his eyes.

"I … kinda like it … when you beg me," he said in a timid voice.

"Like this … Spence please fuck me … I need to feel you baby, please," she said into his ear.

He nodded as he began to move inside of her again. She bit her lip as he slammed into her, loving the feeling of him being dominant for once. She was more than happy to be submissive to him. He was the only person she'd ever trusted to be in control.

"Harder, baby, please," she begged as she moaned.

Spencer held her tightly as he moved faster and pressed roughly into her. Emily was abnormally vocal, which only fueled his desire more.

"Yes, oh fuck, yes. Harder, Spencer, harder. Please, fuck," she cried as she clutched him in her arms. His head resting by her shoulder.

Spencer knew he wasn't going to last much longer, so he slipped his hand between them and immediately stroked her favorite spot. Emily practically screamed as she clenched around him. Her body going stiff as she rode her orgasm out. It was more than Spencer could bare and he, too, cried out as his body released itself into her.

They held each other, panting. Spencer still inside of her and Emily seeming to be in no hurry to separate from him. Finally, Spencer lowered her to the floor, but pressed his forehead against hers.

"I love you. I wish there was a word that told you how deep and strong that love is," he said pressing his lips to hers. "A word that could make you feel how much I ache with love for you."

"I know, because I feel the same way about you," she whispered.

They stayed that way for several minutes. Just staring into each other's eyes. Occasionally, pressing their lips together for gentle kisses.

"We should probably get dressed," he said running his thumb across her cheek.

"Yea. I know the team knows, but I don't think I want them to find us like this," she agreed with a smile.

They quickly got dressed and walked out of the bathroom together. They walked hand in hand back to the seats they had previously been in. Once seated, Emily curled up against Spencer and closed her eyes. Even in the darkest moments, there seemed to be hope with his arms around her.

Now, if they could just save Henry, this whole nightmare will be over and she could move forward with Spencer. Maybe they could look into living together? She loved the idea of waking up next to him every day. She still surprised herself with how much she loved and trusted Spencer. She never thought she'd ever live with a guy. She always saw herself as a one-night stand kinda girl, but now she knew the reason for that was they weren't the one. Spencer was the one.


	23. Chapter 23

_I wanted to write this sooner! Hopefully I can update tomorrow as well. Thanks for sticking with me and for all the great comments!_

 _Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer stood in front of the marker board staring at his scribble. Behind him, Emily, Rossi, and Luke were flipping through old cases that Spencer had worked to see if anyone could fall under the hints that Cat gave.

If any name seemed to fit the description, they would hand the file to Spencer. With his eidetic memory, he would be able to tell if the profile fit. They had been at this for about an hour and it was beginning to seem hopeless.

"Hey, how about this one?" Luke said handing a file to Spencer.

He flipped open the page and the name hit him like a ton of bricks. Lindsey Vaughn. He looked up at the board and stared at the words he'd written and looked back at the folder. Emily glanced up and noticed the look on Spencer's face.

"Spence," she said furrowing her brow.

His mouth had opened slightly as he seemed to zone out. His eyes were glued to the file, but he was no longer looking at it. Emily knew that whatever was in that file, he was replaying it in his head. He suddenly looked up at the team, who were watching him with baited breath.

"Lindsey Vaughn," he said barely above a whisper.

Emily and Rossi looked at each other, before looking back at Spencer. He saw the confusion in their eyes.

"You don't remember her, do you?" he said.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember," Emily said almost embarrassed.

"Lindsey and her friend Katie had been kidnapped, but it turned out that Lindsey's dad, Jack, was in witness protection. I watched Lindsey encourage Jack to shoot the unsub, who was a kid, in the face," he explained.

"That Chula Vista case?" Rossi said slowly remembering.

"Yes," Spencer replied.

"I think I remember that. It was one of my first cases back. So, you think Lindsey is a part of this?" Rossi asked.

"It fits what Cat was saying. 'You won't find him. She's very good at what she does.' She also said that in a roundabout what I did something to the unsub. I tried to encourage Jack not to kill the kid. I told him that his wife wanted Jack to protect Lindsey from becoming a murderer.

I tried to show him what she was turning into. While she never seemed out right angry at me, she did give me a lot of dirty looks. If Cat was looking for a partner, Lindsey is clearly experienced and completely unassuming.

No one would give her a second glance. She seems like a beautiful, sweet girl. She would have plenty of first-hand knowledge about committing murders and covering her tracks," Spencer said as he paced.

"Ok, so let's say it's Lindsey. How does she know Cat?" Emily asked trying to work through the profile.

"It had to be before Cat was sent to jail, right? Since Cat can't have visitors," Rossi said.

"We know she isn't a part of the dirty dozen," Emily said.

"What if …" Spencer trailed off thoughtfully.

"What?" Emily asked watching him.

"What if they had a relationship? What if Cat and Lindsey were more than just partners," Spencer said looking at Emily.

"You mean, lovers?" she said, as a small hint of pink hit her cheeks.

"That oddly would make sense," Rossi said deep in thought.

"So, where do we go to look for her?" Luke asked.

Spencer had started pacing again. His hand holding his chin, while it rested on his other arm.

"It's going to be somewhere meaningful to me. If she wanted to kill Henry, she would have done it immediately. This is a game and the ultimate goal is to torture me," Spencer said.

"Should we start a list of places?" Emily asked.

Luke got up and grabbed a marker.

"What about the school where you first saw Lindsey?" Emily suggested.

"No, it's not meaningful to me," he said as he walked back and forth.

"Is there somewhere in your childhood that she might go to. Maybe your house? A library?" Luke said.

"That's possible, but it doesn't throw any bells and whistles. So, I don't think that is where they are," Spencer said. "She knows everything about me. Even the smallest of details. There is something I'm not thinking of."

"Think like Cat. You know how to get inside her mind. It's going to be somewhere that it'll hit you right in the gut. It's somewhere that you will dread being, but you have no choice, but to go there," Emily said.

Spencer nodded at her words and it suddenly hit him. He stopped walking and stood taller.

"I know where she is," he said.

With that he ran from the room, the team racing after him.

(xxxxx)

Spencer stared at the warehouse building. It had been 4 years since he'd stepped into this building and watched his entire world change in the blink of an eye. He could feel everyone watching him. He knew he had to walk through those doors, but his legs were protesting.

He felt a hand land on his shoulder.

"You aren't doing this alone. We will be with you and we will save Henry," Emily said gently.

Spencer nodded, but he swallowed hard. He was terrified for Henry. He was not hopeful for a positive outcome.

"You ready?" Emily asked.

Luke and Rossi acknowledged her, as did Derek who showed up after Emily called to tell him where they were going. Rossi and Derek had seen this place before as well. Emily and Luke had not, but they knew the story.

Emily stood next to Spencer and gave him a head nod. Spencer looked at her with terrified eyes, but he unhooked his gun and followed Emily to the door. She pulled the metal door open and they stepped into the dark stairwell.

Spencer could feel his heart racing as flashbacks of that day ran through his mind. They slowly moved up the stairs and stepped into the empty warehouse. Spencer's eyes immediately shot to the spot where he'd last seen her, before she was shot. His beloved Maeve.

Suddenly from ahead Spencer heard a noise. He lifted his gun and aimed in the direction of the sound. It was a clicking sound, like heels? He heard the others moving around, clearing the room. He watched as from the shadows, Lindsey Vaughn emerged. She wore tight black pants, a tight black shirt, and her long brown hair rested half over her shoulder.

If he didn't know how dangerous she was, he would've laughed. She was petite and rail thin. She strutted out of the shadows until fully lit by the warehouse lights and then stopped.

"You are smart," she said seductively.

"Where's Henry?" Spencer asked.

"He's fine or will be fine. You on the other hand, probably not as lucky. You took away the love of my life. I will never be able to be with her again. I hated you from the moment you tried to convince my father that I was a bad person," she said as her eyes turned to hateful. "Now I want you dead."

"I was trying to protect you, Lindsey. Your mom wouldn't have wanted her daughter to grow up and become a murderer," Spencer said.

"How would you know what my mother would have wanted? You didn't know her and you don't know me," she stated.

By this time, Rossi and Emily had come back toward Spencer. They both stopped when they saw Lindsey and aimed their guns at her. She gave them a playful smile and laughed.

"Lindsey, we don't want to hurt you. Just tell us where Henry is," Emily said.

Lindsey started laughing.

"Emily, I know you aren't stupid, so don't insult me with your 'talk the unsub off the ledge'. We all know I'm not going to surrender as my death sentence is already set. You also know that I would never be dumb enough to not plan for your arrival."

With that a loud blast rang out in the air. Emily and Rossi dove behind a pillar and began shooting. Emily shooting Lindsey, while Rossi aimed for the person on the second floor. Lindsey disappeared into the shadows as Emily and Rossi ran after her.

As they carefully rounded the corner, more shots rang out.

"I got someone," Derek said into his com-link.

Emily and Rossi ran up the metal stairs. They could hear the clicking of Lindsey's boots. She was heading for the roof top. Emily called out where she was heading as they pushed to catch up to her. Emily burst onto the roof and saw Lindsey running to the edge of the building.

"Lindsey, stop! If you cooperate with us, we can help reduce your sentence and even take the death penalty off the sentencing," Emily said.

Lindsey turned to face Emily, Rossi, and Derek. She smiled and laughed sadly as the wind blew her hair.

"You don't get it Emily. You have already signed my death penalty by taking away my one true love. You will know exactly how I feel. Life is not worth living without your soul mate."

With that Lindsey stepped backwards and flipped over the railing. Derek ran to her to try and catch her, but they were too far away. He leaned over the rail and watched her small body slam into the cement.

"Shit, now how are we going to find Henry?" Emily said.

"Luke tell me you have good news, brother," Derek said into the com-link.

It was silent for a moment. They held their breaths and waited for a response.

"I got him. He's alright," Luke replied.

They let out a sigh of relief and hugged one another. Emily noticed Spencer hadn't followed them.

"Spence, did you hear that?" Emily said into her piece.

There was no response. She looked at Rossi and Derek, who were no longer celebrating.

"Spencer, do you copy?"

After no response again, they ran back into the building and down the stairs. It felt like time was moving slowly. Emily was reminded of the dreams where you are running really hard, but you aren't getting anywhere. She rounded the corner and nearly collapsed.

Lying in a pool of blood, not moving was Spencer. Derek and Rossi pushed past her and ran straight for him. Spencer was coughing and making these awful gurgling sounds as blood poured from his neck. Derek ripped off his shirt and placed it against Spencer's neck.

"Reid look at me, look at me. Can you hear me?" Derek said.

Spencer looked at him and wheezed as he tried to talk. Just the sound of his tongue clicking and his throat crackling came out.

"Blink for yes," Derek said, realizing he couldn't talk.

Spencer's eyes slowly closed, but they reopened. So, he was lucid enough to understand Derek's question and directions. Spencer tilted his head and spit a wad of blood out.

"Em … lee," he gasped.

Rossi turned to see Emily in the same spot as before. She was clearly in shock. He got up and rushed over to her. He grabbed her hand.

"Emily … Emily … Emily!" he shouted.

She blinked a few times and came out of her trance.

"He needs you, now!" Rossi said.

Emily nodded and walked over to him. Her hands were shaking as she lowered herself to the floor. She reached out and took Spencer's hand in her own.

"Spence," she said gently.

Spencer slowly rolled his head in her direction and a tiny smile spread across his blood-stained lips.

"Lo … looo," he wheezed.

"Shhh, don't talk baby. Just rest ok? I'm right here," she said brushing the sweat-filled hair from his eyes.

Spencer let go of her hand and lifted it toward her. His hands were shaking and she could see moving his arm was incredibly difficult for him. His hand finally reached her chest, where he tapped at her heart. Tears spilled from Emily's eyes.

"Spencer, no! Don't you dare leave me!" she said angrily. "Look at me."

His hand was dropping and his eyes were barely open anymore.

"Spencer! Look at me! Open your eyes!" she shouted.

His hand dropped to her lap as his eyes closed and didn't reopen. The sound of sirens could be heard as Emily held Spencer's hand tightly, continuing to yell at him to wake up. When the paramedics arrived, Emily was pulled away from Spencer unwillingly. She struggled, but Rossi held her tightly in his arms.

When he was loaded into the ambulance, they began hooking him up to machines. As the doors were shutting, they heard the heart monitor flatlining.

"Spencer! No, God, no!" Emily screamed as her legs gave out.


	24. Chapter 24

_Sorry it took me so long. I had to rewrite something in here I didn't like. But it's a longer chapter so that's a bonus_ _\- it may take a few days to update again, but I will do my best. Thank you for the comments!_

 _Also, the song in this is Lionheart by Demi Lovato and I apologize for any medical errors. I'm clearly not a doctor or I probably wouldn't have time to write these stories._

 _Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer felt warm and happy. He opened his eyes, but only saw a bright light. He walked toward the light and things began to become clearer. There was beautiful green grass that was soft to the touch. He saw families playing together, couples strolling down a dirt path. Everyone was happy.

The sky was bright, but there was no sun. Trees looked fresh and vibrant. Birds flew overhead, chirping at one another. There was a pond that sparkled as a family of ducks swam by. Near the pond was a bench. On the bench was a girl reading a book. He recognized her immediately and made his way to her.

"Maeve?" he said.

She closed her book and looked up at Spencer with a big smile.

"Spencer."

She got up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He held her tight in his arms and felt such peace. When she pulled away, she took his hand and lead him to the bench. They both sat down together.

"You shouldn't be here," she said, though she wasn't upset with him.

"Where am I?" Spencer asked.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Maeve said.

Spencer looked around again and smiled.

"Yes, it is," he said before turning back to her. "I've missed you."

"My sweet Spencer, I've missed you too. But you must know I am always with you in your heart," she said smiling at him.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to save you," Spencer said frowning.

"Spencer, none of that was your fault and there was nothing you could have done differently. This was my path and I am where I am supposed to be," she said.

"I don't understand," he said furrowing his brow at her.

"In time, you will. There are some things that are better left a mystery," Maeve said before standing up. "Would you like to take a walk with me?"

Spencer looked at the love of his life. She wore a long brown skirt with a plain, yet beautiful white blouse. Her hair was up in a ponytail, with a few strands that escaped hanging over her ear. She wasn't wearing any shoes. He grabbed her hand and they walked together along the pond.

(xxxxx)

The team raced in behind the ambulance, having followed them all the way here at top speed. Typically, this was frowned upon, but Emily didn't give a damn at this point. Derek pulled up to the ER entrance and dropped Emily, Luke, and Rossi off.

They ran inside behind the doctors and nurses that had greeted the EMT's at the door.

"We have a gunshot victim, entry wound to the neck," someone was calling out.

Emily watched them running down the hall with Spencer and she stood shaking. What if that was her last chance to ever see him again? He couldn't die. He couldn't leave her. She needed him.

 _If he dies, I swear I will drive back to that prison and beat the living shit out of Cat. I will torture that bitch mercilessly. Every time she's about to die, I will let her breath again and start all over._

Emily hadn't even realized she was glaring so angrily down the hallway, with fists in a tight ball. She felt hands on her arms and she heard someone coaxing her to sit down.

(xxxxx)

Up ahead Spencer saw two horses grazing in a lush field of green. A few rabbits hopped by, completely unaware of the presence of humans. Maeve walked right over to the brown horse and began to pet it.

"Is that safe?" Spencer asked as he walked up behind her.

Maeve giggled. It was music to his ears.

"It's different here. There is no pain, no sadness, no distrust, no fear. All around you is happiness and harmony," she explained.

"So, it's Utopia?" he said.

"Yes, that is a good description," she said smiling. "Would you like to go for a ride?"

Moments later, they were riding through the field. It was as if Spencer had ridden horses his entire life. They continued for some time just enjoying the beautiful surroundings. Spencer stopped his horse and slid off. He saw something that caught his attention.

In the middle of the green filled field, he saw a pretty orange flower. He reached down and plucked it from the ground. When he turned, Maeve was standing only a few feet away watching him. He walked over and handed it to her.

"Spencer, it's beautiful," she said smelling the flower.

"Orange flowers are supposed to symbolize joy, happiness, and warmth. That is how I feel when I think of you," he said.

"My sweet Spencer," she said giving him a hug.

She fit perfectly in his arms and he loved holding her. He never had the chance to do this and this felt so wonderful and so right. As they were pulling apart, Spencer felt a painful pinch on his neck. His hand instinctively reached up and cupped the spot of pain.

"Spencer?" Maeve said looking at him.

"Something … I thought you said there was no pain here?" he said frowning.

She didn't frown, but she didn't smile anymore either.

"It means our time is nearly up," she said grabbing his hand and walking back towards the pond.

(xxxxx)

Emily sat on the uncomfortable waiting room chair. Her legs were bouncing like she was on a caffeine rush. Next to her Luke sat holding Penelope's hand, while he tried to distract her with a story. Rossi was playing with a loose string on his jacket, while Derek paced.

A doctor appeared in the doorway and walked into the waiting room. All eyes immediately shot to him.

"Agent Prentiss?" the doctor said looking at the medical chart.

"That's me," she said moving closer to the doctor.

"The surgery was successful. We were able to stop the bleeding and remove the bullet with minimal damage," he said.

The team collectively sighed, but Emily noticed something in the doctor's eyes.

"But?" she said.

The doctor took a deep breath and sighed.

"The problem is, Dr. Reid is not waking from the anesthesia. We've looked extensively at his brain and the strange thing is there has been no damage to the cerebral cortex or reticular activating system," the doctor explained.

"What does that mean?" Rossi said in shock.

"It means, he is in a coma and we don't know why. We don't see any injuries to his brain."

"So, what. Does. That. Mean?" Rossi emphasized angrily.

"It means, we have no answers to his recovery. Right now, Dr. Reid is inside a body that is functioning, but he is not present. He has been sent to ICU where they are intubating him and putting him on a respiratory machine, to make sure he keeps breathing.

We will continue to monitor his breathing and brain activity. We will keep you updated of any changes that we see or any information that we find. He is in room 607. I'm very sorry," the man said.

"I need to go see him," Emily said as she walked out of the room.

Rossi hurried after her, while the others stayed behind. Rossi walked with Emily, but didn't say anything. He knew words wouldn't matter right now. When they reached the door, she stopped and stared. Her heart was racing.

"I'm right here with you," Rossi assured her.

Emily nodded and walked into the room. She slipped behind the ugly multicolored curtain and put a hand to her mouth. She tried to control the fear that suddenly washed over her. Spencer looked sound asleep. His face was drained of all color. A tube coming from his throat and wires attached everywhere.

The sound of the ventilator pushing oxygen into Spencer's lungs was only slightly louder than the steady beeping on the monitor nearby. She walked over to the side of the bed and placed her hand on his hand.

"I'm here, Spence. Everything will be alright," she said before bursting into tears. Her body shaking from the sobs escaping her. Rossi pulled Emily into his arms as she clutched him and let out all of her worries.

(xxxxx)

"The weather is perfect here," Spencer said as they reached the pond again.

"Everything is perfect here," Maeve said as she bent over to pet a baby squirrel running by.

"You said our time is nearly up. What do you mean?"

"Spencer, you can't stay here. You need to go back," she said smiling at him.

"But I like it here. I'm happy and you are here," he said as he sat down next to her on the bench.

Suddenly Spencer heard something. It started off faint, but was growing a little stronger. It was someone singing.

 _You're here like a silhouette  
When the darkness rules  
You're the brightest moon  
And I am safe_

Spencer looked around. He could hear the singing, but couldn't see the singer.

"Do you hear that?" he asked.

"I do. She sings beautifully," Maeve replied.

She closed her eyes and seemed to be swaying happily to the music. Spencer listened to the voice and realized why it was so familiar.

"That's Emily," Spencer said.

"I know."

"You know about Emily?" he said turning his attention back to Maeve.

"I do. I am very happy for you. She is wonderful and loves you deeply. Don't be afraid to trust her and keep your heart open. She won't disappoint you," Maeve said.

"But what about you? I love you too," Spencer said.

"I love you as well. But it's ok. Someday, you will come home and I will meet Emily and I will thank her for taking good care of you," she said.

 _The story binds us  
Like right and wrong  
Your hand in mine  
Marching to the beat of the storm_

 _And we walk together into the light  
And my love will be your armor tonight  
We are lionhearts  
And we stand together facing a war  
And our love is gonna conquer it all  
We are lionhearts_

"It's time to go, Spencer. She needs you," Maeve said standing up.

"But, I don't want to. I don't want to leave you," he said. "It's getting cold."

He started to feel scared as the colors were fading away. He watched as the grass disappeared, followed by the trees, the animals, the pond, the people. Only Maeve was left, but even she was starting to fade.

"You need to go home. You have a family to take care of now. Emily can't do it without you," she said.

"A family?" Spencer asked.

"I will see you again," she replied before disappearing completely.

The light faded away and he was plunged back into darkness.

"Maeve!" he screamed as he looked around the dark room. "Maeve come back! Don't leave me!"

(xxxxx)

Emily sat next to Spencer holding his hand. She had stayed by his side since he'd been brought to the hospital. He still hadn't woken. The surgery had been 5 days ago. Everyone took turns checking in. J.J. was taking it especially hard. She was so grateful that he had found Henry, but devastated that he'd been shot and left fighting for his life.

There was a knock at the door. Emily looked up to see Derek peeking in. She gave him a small smile as he walked over toward her. He looked at Spencer who seemed to be peacefully sleeping. The heart monitor was beeping steadily, which was the only comfort.

"How you holdin' up?" he asked.

She shrugged.

"Hey kid," Derek said as he placed his hand on Spencer's forehead. "You need to come back to us. We need you. I need to know the traffic patterns to know the fastest route to crime scenes." He smiled at that memory.

After a moment, Derek stepped away and bent over to kiss the top of Emily's head.

"You want something to eat?"

Emily shook her head no.

"You need to keep your strength up. Otherwise you'll be hooked up to machines too," he said.

"That may not be a bad thing," she muttered.

"Emily, I know you are hurting, but you can't give up hope. We need to have faith he will pull through this," he said. "We are all here for you."

Emily nodded and gave him a smile. With that Derek left the room. She turned her attention back to Spencer and sighed.

"Damn it, Spence. Come back to me," she said as a tear slid from her eye.

She jumped in surprise, when she felt his hand move. She looked from his hand to his face.

"Can you hear me? Spencer, it's Emily, wake up please," she said as she stood over him.

His eyes slowly opened.

"Spence, it's Emily. It's ok, everything's ok," she said as his eyes wandered the room. "You are in the hospital, but you're going to be alright."

Spencer's eyes went back to Emily. She was smiling as tears streamed from her eyes. His eyes started to get heavy and within moments he had fallen back to sleep. Emily still by his side, crying happily for the first time in days.


	25. Chapter 25

_Sorry for the short chapter. I wanted to update quickly – because I hate making you all wait! Great news – my girls are going to camp next week so I'll have four nights all to myself! So expect more chapters to come!_

 _Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

The following morning Spencer was deemed strong enough to remove the items helping him breathe. He was lying in bed, staring out the window when Emily returned from a, much needed, break to get breakfast. When she walked into Spencer's room, he rolled his head to see who was coming in the room.

"Good morning, handsome," she said as she walked over to her chair beside the bed.

Spencer smiled at her weakly, but it was still a smile she hadn't seen in days.

"How are you feeling?"

"Sore," he whispered.

"I wouldn't doubt that. Between the wound and the intubater I would imagine you are sore," she said sympathetically. "You have no idea how good it is to see those brown eyes though."

He saw the look of sadness cross her face. He reached for her hand and gave her a loving squeeze. Emily didn't want to get emotional again, so she just smiled at him.

"I let everyone know you are awake and this afternoon they are transferring you to a regular room. You should be able to get up and moving. Hopefully you'll be sent home in the next few days," Emily explained.

Spencer looked at her and seemed to be considering something. She was about to ask him what he was thinking about, when he began whispering something at her.

"I can't understand," she said leaning forward.

He seemed frustrated by this. He furrowed his brow and whispered the same inaudible word. He took a deep breath and seemed to concentrate very hard. Before he had the chance to try again, the door opened and a doctor walked in to give Spencer the approval to move out of ICU, to a normal hospital room.

About 30 minutes later, Spencer was wheeled into his new room, Emily totting behind him. They were getting settled in and the nurses had finally left them alone, when Spencer once again tried saying something to her.

It was so soft, she couldn't hear what it was he was saying. She walked closer to him and leaned over to hear him, when the door burst open.

"Pretty Rickyyyyy," Derek said happily as he walked in with Penelope and Luke.

"Oh, boy wonder you have got to stop scaring us like this," Penelope said as she rushed over to give him a kiss.

He seemed agitated, but he gave Penelope a small smile after she kissed his forehead.

"How are you feeling, man?" Luke asked. "You look like you have more color."

Spencer just nodded. His throat still aching from the tube. He started coughing. The sound was painful to the ear and clearly hurting him badly. Emily handed him a cup of water. He took a sip and looked back at the group watching him.

"Rossi said he was on his way, J.J. is getting Henry and Michael ready to come visit, and Hotch said as soon as Jack gets home from a sleepover he will come visit," Derek said pretending nothing happened.

Spencer furrowed his brow. He didn't want to wait that long to ask Emily about what Maeve told him. He tried to consider how to do this. He didn't want everyone in the room to know, but he also wanted to know if where he was, was real or a dream.

"The doctor said he's recovering well and as long as nothing changes over the next two days, he should be released by Tuesday," Emily told the group.

They were all murmuring their happiness about this news. Spencer looked at Emily and lifted his hand to wave her closer.

"You alright?" she asked a bit worried.

He kept waving her closer. She bent down until her face was next to his. Her ear was right near his lips. She heard him take a deep, raspy breath.

"Are you," he began before stopping and taking another breath. His voice was so raw and raspy. "having," breath. "A baby?"

Emily froze. She slowly moved back and looked into his eyes. They were watching her closely. She knew she looked like a deer in headlights.

"Everything alright?" Derek asked.

Emily slowly moved back, not breaking eye contact with Spencer.

"Um, can you give us a minute please," she said slowly.

The group looked at her and then each other, but they nodded and walked out of the room, lingering in the hallway. Emily shut the door behind them and walked back towards Spencer who was watching her intently.

"How …" she trailed off in shock. "How did you know?"

There it was. Emily was having his baby. He was going to be a father. He closed his eyes for a moment and let those words sink in. When he opened them, he could see the panic and distress in Emily's eyes. He patted the bed, so she walked over and sat down.

Words were escaping him at the moment, which was probably for the best since his throat was so sore. He grabbed Emily's hand, making her look at him. He smiled at her and squeezed her hand lovingly. Her eyes began to shimmer with tears.

"You aren't mad?" she said softly.

Spencer shook his head no emphatically.

"Happy," he croaked.

"Really?" she said grinning through the few tears that escaped.

"I. Love. You," he spoke slowly.

"I love you too," she said leaning down to give him a kiss.

After a few more chaste kisses, she sat back up, face shining with happiness.

"When you are able to talk better, I want to know how you knew," she said. Spencer nodded. "Should we tell anyone or wait?"

Spencer mouthed wait. She knew he would want to be a part of the news and in his current condition he couldn't really celebrate with everyone.

"Ok, we will wait. Can I let them come back in to see you again? Penelope has popped up in that window at least a dozen times in the past minute," Emily laughed.

Spencer smiled and nodded. As Emily got up to let the group in, his mind wandered. Wherever he was when he was in that coma, it was real. It wasn't some dream that he had. He had actually been there and Maeve was truly there. He suddenly felt peace surrounding him and he looked up at the ceiling and smiled.

 _Thank you. I'll see you again someday._


	26. Chapter 26

_Well so much for lots of chapters. Between work, life, and not feeling well I've barely managed this chapter. Hope you enjoy it tho! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

A week had flown by. Spencer had been released from the hospital as expected on that Tuesday. Emily insisted on staying with him while he fully recovered, which was alright with Spencer. He had already been considering asking her to move in with him before this debacle side tracked it. Spencer was settled on the couch with a cup of coffee, while Emily sat nearby with a cup of tea.

"It's nice to be home," Spencer sighed. He was moving stiffly because of the stitches and pain in his neck.

"I'm glad to have you home. I was truly afraid you …" she trailed off.

"I'm sorry," he said reaching over to give her hand a squeeze.

She gave him a half smile. "I know."

"So, I never got to ask you, when did you find out about the baby?" Spencer asked as he took another sip of his coffee.

"Well, I had my suspicions the night of the incident with the candlestick," she started. Spencer turned to face her more, looking very interested. "While we were having sex that night, I noticed that anytime you touched my breasts it kinda hurt. I didn't really think much of it, because you kept me plenty distracted."

She stopped to smile at him and he returned the smile shyly.

"The day after you left for Las Vegas, to take your Mom back to Bennington, I woke up feeling extremely nauseous. By the time I got out of bed, I had to race to the bathroom. I still didn't think anything of it as I had been feeling off for about two weeks. I assumed the stomach bug finally caught up with me.

What finally triggered the thought in my mind was about 20 minutes after I threw up, I was starving. I thought that was odd. There was no way I had recovered that quickly from a bug and I hadn't eaten anything the night before that would cause me to get sick.

Then it hit me. Like a slap in the face. I checked my calendar and saw that I was already three weeks late. I hadn't even realized it between everything going on. I was never very regular anyway since I started this job. The stress fucks with your cycle badly. I went to the store and purchased a test and took it that morning.

Honestly, when I saw the two lines I was in shock, but … I felt really … excited. I started to worry about your reaction to all of this and of course, thought about what this meant for our jobs. But my happiness for this baby was more powerful than those fears."

As she told this story, Spencer noticed that her hands were laying on her belly, gently rubbing. He smiled at the gesture and looked up at her sparkling eyes.

"I suppose we have a lot of things to talk about, but I hope you know that I'm very excited about our child as well. I have my moments that I'm terrified, but knowing I have you by my side makes me feel stronger," he said running his bandaged hand across her bare leg.

She smiled at him before scooting closer to his side. She gave him a gentle kiss before snuggling into his arms. Her head on his chest.

"So, how did you know about the baby? Did you see the test or something?" Emily asked.

Spencer cleared his throat as he placed his coffee cup down. Emily noticed that he seemed uncomfortable, so she sat up and looked at him. He rubbed his hands down his khaki pants nervously.

"What is it?" Emily said furrowing her brow.

"I know this is going to sound crazy, but it's true," he said. "Do you remember when we talked about our death experiences?"

Emily nodded.

"How I saw a bright light and felt warm?"

She nodded again.

"This time I walked to the light and when I was through I was at this beautiful place. There were people everywhere and everyone was so happy and peaceful. I mean, you couldn't just see how happy everyone was, you could feel it too. There was no sun, but it was bright as day.

Everything was perfect. The water, the grass, the dirt. Nothing in this place had a flaw. There is truly no other word to describe that place other than perfection. I felt a calm I had never felt before. I didn't want to leave," he said zoning out as he imagined this place.

"So, what happened?" Emily asked shakily.

"I saw her. She was sitting on a bench reading a book," he began.

"Maeve," Emily said barely above a whisper.

Spencer looked at her and nodded.

"We talked for a while and I apologized for not being able to save her, but she just smiled at me and said it was where she was meant to be," he said licking his lips. "Emily, there were horses there. I rode a horse and it was as if I had ridden them my entire life."

Emily stared wide eyed at him, her mouth slightly open. "The baby," she whispered as she felt herself choking up.

"I know, I know. I'm getting to that. We got to this field and I saw an Orange flower. I got off the horse and went over to pick it. I gave it to Maeve and I gave her a hug –"

"Are you kidding me, right now?" Emily snapped.

Spencer looked over at her stunned. Her eyes were filled with tears, her nose flared, and she was biting her lip. Signs that she was trying to fight back her feelings.

"Wait, it's not –" he said as Emily stood up.

"It's not what Spencer? It's not a big deal? While I sat by your side as you were dying, you were in some, I quote 'perfect' place with the love of your life! Do you think I want to hear this? All I wanted to know is how you knew about our baby. I did not want to know that you spent the worst moments of my fucking life frolicking in a perfect field with your perfect ex-girlfriend," Emily said as she turned and stormed towards the bedroom.

Spencer ran after her. He palmed the door she tried to slam shut, but didn't make it to the bathroom that slammed and locked in front of him.

"Emily, please let me finish," he pleaded.

"Sure, Spencer. Continue the story of how you wanted to stay where you were because you were happy. Happy with perfection and Maeve," she said angrily.

He ducked his head in regret. He could hear the pain in her voice and knew she was crying.

"Em, I'm sorry. I didn't think through my words. I just wanted to share with you what happened. I didn't mean to make you feel bad," he said leaning against the door.

"Just leave me alone," she whispered sadly.

He stood there debating what to do, but he couldn't walk away and make her feel that she was unwanted.

"I heard you," he said, pausing for a response. When he got nothing, he continued. "I heard you singing to me in that place. I googled the song. It was Lionheart."

Still no response.

"Maeve told me it was time to go. She said I had a family to take care of," he said. "The place faded away and I was scared. I wanted to go back to that place where I felt safe."

He heard her begin to sob.

"But then I heard you. I heard your voice begging me to come back and I felt that peace again. When I opened my eyes and saw you, every perfect feeling I felt in that place came rushing back to me. I wasn't afraid anymore because you were there.

I can't stop caring about Maeve. It's just something that will always be a part of me, but while she has a piece of me, you have all of me. You are the reason I breathe every day. The reason I live. You are my world, my everything."

Spencer stepped back when he heard the door knob click. Emily opened the bathroom door and looked at him with a tear streaked face. She was biting her lip and trying to hold back the tears.

"You mean that?" she said in a hushed tone.

"Have I ever been one to lie? I mean, I almost destroyed our relationship because I can't tell you anything but the truth," he said.

"You need to tell me now. This is your out, Spencer. I do not want you to do this for the baby. I can raise the baby just fine on my own. I do not need your pity or your sympathy," she said getting worked up again.

Spencer walked over to his bedside table as Emily watched him with curiosity. He grabbed something out of the drawer and handed it to her. She looked at the stack of ads in her hands.

"These are home listings," she said confused.

"Yes, they are. While I was in Las Vegas, I had some down time and I used it looking for new homes in the area. My place is just too small, you said so yourself when Mom was here," he started.

"So, you want to move out of the apartment? This is relevant why?" she said irritated.

Spencer let out a small laugh. "Emily, I was looking at homes for us. I wanted to ask you to move in with me, but there's no room for your things and your place is just as small for the cost. So, I thought I'd find somewhere that would fit us both and then ask you to live with me," he explained.

Emily looked at him, down at the papers in her hand, back up at him, and back down at the papers.

"Are … you … Are you serious?" she said looking back up at him again.

"I'm dead serious," he said as she shot him a look. "Ok, wrong choice of word there, but yes, I am 100% serious, Emily. I want to wake up to you every day. I want the last thing I see at night to be your beautiful face."

Emily placed the papers on top of the dresser nearby as more tears slid from her eyes.

"Are those yes tears or Spencer, you are out of your ever-loving mind tears?" he asked.

Emily walked over to him and pressed her lips to his. They devoured each other. Her hands clutching his shirt as his hands held curled into her hair. Their lips moving with one another as their tongues fought.

Emily pulled back and brushed Spencer's hair from his eyes. "They are definitely yes tears," she said smiling at him.

Spencer's face lit up. His smile stretched across his entire face, something she loved dearly about him. He cupped her face and pressed his lips to hers again. Their kiss intensified as they clawed at one another's clothing. Shirts, shoes, socks, everything flying through the air to different locations around the bedroom.

Spencer grabbed Emily and pulled her to bed, never separating from her mouth. He sat down as she straddled his waist. In between kisses and gasps for air, Spencer urgently declared, "God, I love you so much."

This pushed Emily further into a frenzy. Her kisses became more desperate and needy. He could feel her desire to become one with him. To be reminded that this was real and he wasn't going anywhere. It was this realization that made him pull back from her.

"Emily, sweetie," he said as she began to suck on his neck.

Spencer pushed on her shoulders, breaking her from the trance. She looked embarrassed, confused, and a hint of fear. He smiled at her and ran his fingers through her hair.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said softly. "We don't have to rush this. We can take our time and enjoy it."

Emily blushed, but nodded her head. Spencer stood up, holding Emily in his arms. He turned and placed her on the bed. He climbed over her and smiled before giving her a gentle kiss. He rubbed his nose affectionately against hers.

He slid down her body and stopped at her stomach. Emily propped herself up and watched him place a kiss on her belly.

"You can't hear me yet, but we love you and we can't wait to meet you," he said before placing another kiss.

He looked up at Emily and smiled lovingly at her. She reached out to bring him back up to her mouth. The rest of the night they enjoyed each other. No desperation. No rush. Just complete love and adoration.


	27. Chapter 27

_So sorry for the delay! I have been so busy! I am going on vacation in five days, so I hope to have time to write while relaxing!_

 _This chapter I hoped to explain why Emily is acting more emotional than she does on the show. There was a reason for that and I hope this makes sense._

 _Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer and Emily laid in bed together, bodies still tangled together after their love making. Emily's head snuggled into Spencer's arm and chest. Spencer held her close as he rubbed his hand up and down Emily's bare arm.

"Spence," she said gently.

"Hmm?" he said with his eyes closed.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?" Spencer said now opening his eyes.

"Since we've gotten together, I've been really hard on you," she said not lifting her head from its cradled spot.

"Hard on me? I don't understand," he said, honestly.

"Spence, I have been freaking out on you a lot lately," she started.

"Em, its fine. I know you are going through a lot," he said.

"No, it's not fine. You don't deserve that," she said taking a deep breath. "The things is … I'm incredibly confident at my job. I don't second guess my choices often and I can lead the team without fear. I've always been confident in all that I do. When it came to men, I made the rules and I didn't look back once with regret.

Spencer, with you, I am terrified. I am so insecure and so afraid of screwing up something amazing that I keep acting out irrationally. I am not an emotional person. I mean, come on, my number one quality has always been compartmentalization. But with you, I can't seem to do that. I feel out of my element and confused by how much I need you.

I have never needed anyone. I have spent my entire life taking care of myself. Everything was always in my control and now my world has been turned upside down. I am truly sorry that you are on the receiving end of all of that confusion," she explained.

Spencer took the hand that lay on his chest and entwined their fingers.

"I understand. This is new for me too. I always saw myself being alone the rest of my life. I had dates and stuff here and there, but no real girlfriends. I just figured I'd work at the BAU until I died or was sent to a home for Schizophrenia. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would find a girl like you … hell, I never thought I'd ever get _you_ to be my girlfriend.

There are some days I have doubts and insecurities that you will wake up and realize it's me, then run like the wind. But, I know you Emily, and I know you would never hurt me. With that, I have to believe that your declaration of love for me is genuine and allow myself to have faith and trust in you," Spencer said.

"Look at us. We love each other so deeply and yet, we can still convince ourselves this isn't real," Emily said.

"We just have to have patience with one another. This is a new journey for both of us and we will have our struggles considering our pasts, but if we are open and honest with each other, I believe we can conquer those fears and eventually they will be non-existent."

"I can do that," Emily replied as a smile crossed her lips.

"I can too," he said before placing a kiss on the top of her head. "Now get some rest, you have to work tomorrow."

"First day back since the cat was released from the bag."

"How do you feel about that?" Spencer asked.

"Surprisingly, I'm ok with it. I guess, whatever is going to happen is how it's meant to be," Emily said.

"Well, I am here for you and will stand by you through it all. Worst comes to worst, I'll make a trip to Vegas and hit some casinos that don't know me and get us set for a few years," he said chuckling.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Emily giggled.

"I love you, Em."

Emily twisted a bit to be able to press her lips to his.

"I love you too," she said before giving him one more quick kiss.

She snuggled back into his arms and they soon drifted off to sleep.

(xxxxx)

Emily was sitting at her desk signing off on reports when she heard a knock on her door. She let out a yawn and looked at the clock. It was already going on 6 o'clock and she wasn't nearly ready to return home.

"Come in," she called out.

The door opened and J.J. popped her head in.

"Hey, we are heading out for the night. Is there anything we can do to help you get out at a decent hour?" she asked.

"I wish, but no. Thank you for offering," Emily said giving her smile.

"I don't mean to be incredibly intrusive, but we were all going out to dinner tonight and really would like you to join us. Do you think you'll be done by 7:30?" J.J. said.

Emily looked at the stack of papers on her desk.

"Ugh, I don't know. I highly doubt it. Can I take a rain check?"

J.J. seemed unwilling to give up. "Well, normally yes, but … I know you've been really busy and all so you probably forgot … it's for Will. He was promoted at work and we are celebrating."

"Shit, I did forget. Jayje I'm really sorry," she sighed. "Umm, ok, if I really focus I can get most of it done. Then I can come back tonight and finish whatever I didn't finish. So yes, I will be there. Where is it again?"

"Merchino's," J.J. said.

"Ok, I'll see you there at 7:30," Emily replied.

J.J. smiled before shutting the door. Emily picked up her cell and pushed a few buttons, before putting the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey you, did you remember about Will's dinner celebration tonight?"

"I did. Did you forget?" Spencer said.

"Yea, I've had so much going on at work it completely slipped my mind. I honestly don't even remember her telling me," she said.

"You want me to pick you up on my way?" he offered.

"No, just in case I'm running late, you go ahead. I'll be there," she said.

"Hey, Em?"

"Yea?" she asked.

"Take it easy. Don't rush or put yourself in danger to get there. We will wait for you as long as we have to," he said.

Emily nodded her head, before realizing she needed to talk.

"I will drive safe," she promised him.

"Good. I'll see you at 7:30 then," he said.

"7:30," she agreed.

"Love you," Spencer said.

"Love you too," Emily replied before they both hung up.

She looked at her watch. She had 1 hour and 25 minutes to get as much of her work done as she could.

(xxxxx)

Emily down the street from the parking lot. She barely made it, but thankfully she was only 5 minutes late. She stopped in front of a closed storefront window and adjusted her attire. She swiped at her black pants and fixed her red shirt so it didn't look as wrinkled. Then she ran her fingers through her black hair to get as many knots out as possible. Once she deemed herself worthy, she walked to the restaurant entrance and went inside.

"There she is!" Penelope called out.

Emily smiled as the group acknowledged her presence. She reached the table and gave Will a hug.

"Congratulations Detective Supervisor," she said patting his back.

"Thank you," Will responded in his thick New Orleans accent.

Emily placed her hand lovingly on J.J.'s shoulder before sitting between Spencer and Tara. She felt for Spencer's hand under the table and grabbed it tight. She saw the other's trying to pretend they didn't notice the look they gave each other.

After everyone placed their orders, Penelope tapped her glass.

"In honor of this lovely evening, I brought a surprise for everyone," she said.

Everyone turned their attention to her. She had a smile on her face as she dug something out of her purse. She lifted a blue and white box and Derek groaned.

"No! Not that game again!" he whined

"Oh, come on! It was so much fun last time!" Penelope said slapping his shoulder.

"What is it?" Luke asked.

"They are conversation starters. It asks stuff like what's your favorite color or who do you have a crush on," J.J. said smiling at the memory.

"And you have to play. There are no exceptions," Penelope said firmly. "Who wants to start?"

"I will," Tara offered. "I would like to know more about you guys."

"There's the spirit!" Penelope said handing the box across the table.

Tara pulled out the first card.

"What is your favorite animal and why?" she said.

"Ok, now you answer first Tara. Then you hand the card to Emily and she answers, then passes it to Spencer until it reaches back to you," Penelope explained.

"Alright, my favorite animal is a Tiger. They are beautiful, yet fierce," she said handing the card to Emily.

"Uh, I can't believe my answer is this lame, but I like cats. They are independent, but they can also be very loving," she said.

Spencer took the card. "I like Gorillas. I think it's fascinating that they can communicate with us through sign language," he said.

"I like bear cubs. Because I like the Cubs," Rossi said taking the card and handing it straight to Will.

"Since I was a boy I've always liked snakes. I really don't know why. They are just cool," Will said.

"I like Panda Bears. They are so cute and snuggly," J.J. said, emphasizing snuggly with a squeeze of the air in front of her.

"I like dogs. They are loyal, smart, and good companions," Luke replied.

"Awe, Roxie loves you for that answer," Penelope said as she took the card. "I, of course, love all animals, I suppose if I had to choose I would pick a unicorn."

"Unicorns aren't real," Derek said giving her a look.

Penelope gasped. "Don't you dare utter such blasphemy you dream crusher!" She said slapping his arm.

"Fine, whatever. Unicorn it is," he said snatching the card from her. "I like Lions. Cause they are cunning, fast, and clever."

Tara took the card and put it back into the box.

"Now it's Emily's turn," Penelope said.

Tara handed the box over to Emily. She pulled the next card out.

"Will you marry me …" she read out loud. She looked up from the card and back down at the card. Her brow furrowed in confusion. She flipped the card around and looked at it again. "Did I get this by mistake?"

By the time she looked up, Spencer had turned in his seat and was holding a diamond ring in his hand. Her jaw dropped as she stared at the ring in his palm. The light reflecting off it. Suddenly the room had gone empty. She didn't see or hear anything. All she saw was Spencer's hand.

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. She was blinking rapidly as the words swirled around in her brain. Her heart was racing.

"What … you … how … what?" she stuttered as her brain failed to comprehend what was happening.

"Emily Prentiss, will you marry me?" Spencer said in a soft voice.

Tears now streamed down Emily's cheeks. She still couldn't breath and she was so caught off guard by this. She started to come back down from the shock of it all and realized everyone was watching her and waiting. Especially Spencer, who now seemed to be growing nervous.

"Yes," she whispered.

"Yes?" he asked again for verification.

Emily laughed as she cried. She nodded her head and said yes again. Spencer slipped the ring onto her finger and pulled her into his arms where he kissed her. When they broke the kiss, they put their foreheads together. Spencer still playing with strands of her hair.

"So, this was the plan all along?" she said to him.

"Yea, when Will found out what was going on, he offered to pretend to receive a promotion. We figured it was the only way to get you out of work," Spencer explained.

"Oh, Will, I'm sorry," Emily said looking up at him.

"Darlin, I was promoted months ago. We just didn't make a big deal about it," Will replied.

"You all knew?" Emily asked looking around the table as she wiped her eyes.

They were all nodding.

"How long have you been planning this?" Emily asked Spencer.

"Since the day I got shot," he said.

"All of this?" she gestured around her.

"Pretty boy planned all of this on his own. He only asked us to keep it a secret and to help execute his plan," Derek said smiling.

"Yea, so the paperwork you were trying so hard to complete? It's not due until Monday. I may have lied about the timeline," Rossi said with a smirk.

They all laughed as Emily threw her napkin at him. She looked down at her ring and felt a smile stretching across her face.

"Ok, let us see! Spencer wouldn't show us," Penelope said jumping from her seat.

"Yea, he said that you should get to see it before everyone else," J.J. said as she raced over to see it as well.

The girls all oohed and ahhed over the ring, while Spencer proudly watched. He felt a pat on his back and looked to see Rossi smiling at him.

"I'm proud of you kid," he said.

Spencer smiled shyly. "Thank you."

"You are going to have one good looking child," Rossi whispered.

Spencer's jaw dropped and he looked around the table to see if anyone else heard that. They were all too busy gushing over Emily.

"How …" Spencer said furrowing his brow.

Rossi didn't answer, he just took a sip of his wine with a small cocky grin.

"Salute papà," Rossi whispered as he held his glass out to Spencer.

Spencer grabbed his glass and clinked it with Rossi before he let out a laugh.


	28. Chapter 28

_Sorry for the wait! I really do try to get my stories out quicker than this. Anyway, this is just a little fluff chapter, but we need a few of those to progress the story._

 _Enjoy and keep sharing any ideas of things you'd like to see – I'll do my best to include them! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

The moment they shut the door to Spencer's apartment, Emily pounced on him. She latched onto his mouth eagerly as she threw her arms around his neck. She was practically devouring him. He finally pulled away to catch his breath.

"I can't believe you planned all of this and I didn't see it coming. Some profiler I am," Emily said still holding him close.

"You've had a lot on your mind and it has been a stressful year," Spencer said as his hands settled on her waist. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

"Is it too early to ask what you want to do?" Emily said. "I don't have much experience with this sort of thing."

"I sure hope not," Spencer teased.

Emily giggled and playfully slapped his shoulder. "You know what I mean."

"Yes, I do and I have no experience either. I guess we do what feels right to us. If you want to talk about it now we can. If you want to wait, we can wait," Spencer said as he brushed a stray hair from her face.

Emily seemed to contemplate what he said. She got a smile on her face and bit her lip.

"What?" Spencer asked with a slight chuckle.

"I want to have sex with my fiancée first, then we can talk about it," she said seductively.

Before Spencer could respond, Emily grabbed him by the tie and pulled him towards the bedroom.

(xxxxx)

Emily still laid on top of Spencer breathing heavily as the two tried to recover.

"God, that was amazing. I hope this never gets old," Emily sighed as rolled off of him.

Spencer wiped the sweat off his forehead and sat up to reach for his glasses. Once he settled back down, Emily curled against him. Her head in its usual place by his arm and chest. Her hand laying on his stomach and her leg draped over his legs.

"I don't imagine it ever will love," he said as he placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"So, did you have any thoughts about the wedding?" Emily asked, almost timidly.

"Not particularly, no. I figured it should be what you want," he replied.

Emily propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him.

"You should have just as much say in this as I do," she said, appalled at the idea that the woman should decide.

"I wasn't saying I won't help in the decisions. I just want you to get everything you've dreamed of. That would make me the happiest," he said, honestly.

Emily blushed and grinned at him.

"Spencer, you are more than I ever dreamed of," she said leaning forward to kiss him.

Their kiss intensified, before Spencer pushed her back a bit. She smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry," she said.

"No, don't say sorry. It's just, I'm not ready for round two yet. He needs time to recuperate," he said glancing down at his limp friend.

"I know," Emily said snuggling back into his arms. "Ok, well since we've both agreed that we are happy no matter what, do we want to do an actual wedding?"

"Yes. It doesn't have to be elaborate if you don't want, but I'd like to see you indulge a little. Buy a dress, have a reception afterward," Spencer said.

"It's weird I never saw myself marrying anyone and if I did stop to think about it, I was all about a courthouse piece of paper. No fuss, no muss. But now … I don't know … I'm sort of excited with the idea of planning a wedding with you," Emily said, unconsciously snuggling closer to him.

"I understand. You know I don't like to be the center of attention, so this is completely foreign for me. But imagining you walking down the aisle toward me, it makes me get butterflies … in a good way," he said.

"Ok, so we are definitely having a wedding. Do we want to do something like J.J. and Will? Rossi's backyard or something more religious like a church?"

"Uh, well I don't want to do Rossi's backyard, although that is completely apropos since that is where we began. I don't think a church is suitable, as neither of us is very religious," Spencer said.

"That's true, but our other problem is what do we do if we have a case? We'd lose any money we put toward the wedding. I mean, I can try to ask for no cases on a certain date, but if it's something urgent we'd have no choice," Emily frowned.

"That's true. Well, let's hold off on that one for a bit. I have some ideas, but I need to look into it," he replied.

"How soon would you want to do this?"

"Tomorrow," Spencer said making Emily laugh.

"Ok, so the sooner the better," Emily giggled.

"That's right. Don't want you having time to change your mind," he teased.

Emily turned so that she was almost laying on top of him again. She looked at him seriously and shook her head.

"Never," she said.

Spencer lifted his head and pressed his lips to hers. Their lips moving together as one, their fingers tangled in each other's hair. Spencer pushed Emily down onto her pillow as he climbed on top of her.

"Oh, someone is ready for round two," Emily teased as she felt him at her entrance.

"You better believe it," he said before attacking her mouth again.

Emily took his glasses off and put them on the bedside table. She then threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down on top of her.

(xxxxx)

Spencer sat at the counter separating the kitchen from the dining area at Derek's. He was looking at some papers in front of him, while Derek was creating some nasty smelling juice in the kitchen.

"This one is nice," Spencer said lifting up one of the papers.

"Yea, that's one of my favorites. I've been renovating that one for about 8 months. It should be complete within the next month or two. Although, for you and Emily, you know I'd push to get it done as quick as possible," Derek said as he added some chunky green liquid to the blender.

Spencer grimaced and stared at the concoction.

"What are you making?" he said, disgusted.

"It's a health juice," Derek said as he poured the drink into a cup. It was thick and goopy.

"It looks like snot," Spencer said with his face still scrunched up.

"It has parsley, spinach, pears, and celery," Derek replied.

Spencer stuck out his tongue.

"Just because you eat like a toddler, doesn't mean all of us do," Derek said taking a sip.

"Most people don't eat like a garbage disposal either," Spencer said jokingly.

"Try a sip. You might like it."

"No thanks. I'll take a vitamin," Spencer said waving off the cup.

"Suit yourself. So, you and Emily discuss when you want to get married?" Derek asked.

"Yea, we have a bit. We haven't finalized any plans yet, obviously, but we are making some progress. I suppose we don't have a lot of time to decide if we want to do it before Emily gets too far along," Spencer said as he flipped through another set of papers.

"Before Emily what?" Derek said mid-drink.

Spencer stopped dead in his tracks. He stared at the papers in front of him trying to think of a good lie, but nothing was coming to him. He slowly looked up at Derek and saw the look in his eyes.

"Shit," Spencer sighed.

"Emily is pregnant?!" Derek said with a big grin on his face.

"Please don't tell anyone," Spencer begged.

"Oh, snap! I mean, I figured y'all were having sex, but this … this like makes it official," Derek laughed.

Spencer looked offended.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. That's mean, man. I just … I dunno … you'll always be my dorky brother. I'm not used to seeing you with a girl on your arm and not imaging you playing chess or reading books," Derek said.

"Geez, Morgan. I'm a fully functioning man! Just because I don't go around telling everyone about my bedroom antics, doesn't mean I've never had any," Spencer snapped. "Seriously! You think Lila and I didn't do anything? What about Austen? I may not be with a different lady every night, but I still have needs and wants."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry," Derek said with sincerity.

Spencer watched him carefully for a moment, before nodding his forgiveness.

"So, how far along is she? How long have you known?" Derek said changing the topic.

"She is just about 4 months now. I found out after my injury," Spencer explained.

"You hopin' for a boy or a girl?" Derek asked as he finished off his drink.

"As long as the baby is healthy I am happy," Spencer said.

"Well, duh. But if you had a choice, boy or girl?"

"I keep picturing a mini Emily," Spencer smiled.

"I just can't believe it man. Engaged and a baby on the way. I'm really proud of you kid. You've come a long way since I met you," Derek said seriously.

"Thank you," Spencer said blushing proudly.

"Does anyone else know about this?"

"No and I'm serious don't tell anyone! Especially Garcia!" Spencer said pointing his finger accusingly at him.

Derek threw up his hands. "I won't say a word, I promise."


	29. Chapter 29

_To apologize for the delay – here's a longer than usual chapter! I tried to write on vacation, but I had no internet to post the final product. Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer walked in carrying an armful of groceries. He lifted his foot to kick the door shut and hurried to the kitchen to put the heavy bags down. As he unloaded the first bag, he heard footsteps behind him.

"You didn't happen to get pickles, did you?" she asked.

Spencer reached into one of the bags, pulled out a jar, and handed it to her. Emily let out a groan and snatched it from him. He heard the pop of the lid and the crunch of her first bite.

"You are the best," she moaned.

"How are you feeling?" Spencer asked her as he put a gallon of milk into the fridge.

"Hungry. I swear, it's like my stomach has turned into a bottomless pit," she said lifting her shirt to expose her ever growing bump.

Spencer smiled and placed his hand on her belly and gave it a little rub.

"The baby tells you what it needs. So, enjoy eating whatever your stomach craves," he said before giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

"I'm surprised I'm starting to show so much. It seemed like J.J. didn't start to grow this big until her 6th month," Emily said as she stuffed another pickle into her mouth.

"Everybody's different. Don't compare yourself to others," he said as he finished putting away the final groceries.

"I have a doctor's appointment on Friday morning. I got the earliest appointment so we can go before work. Fingers crossed we don't have a case," she said.

"It's important you don't miss appointments," Spencer said turning to face her.

"Clearly, but what am I supposed to do? I'm the Unit Chief. I can't just skip out on cases."

"Yes, you can. That child is more important than our job," he said.

Emily folded her arms across her chest and popped her hip out with irritation.

"You think I would choose our job over the wellbeing of our child?" she snapped.

"Not what I meant, Em. I just meant, don't put pressure on yourself to be on a case when you should be taking care of yourself. Cruz and anyone else who has something to say about it can answer to me," he said defiantly.

Emily smiled. "You're so cute when you get riled up."

Spencer chuckled as she walked over and gave him a hug. He kissed her pickle-stained lips.

"Oh, so I may have accidentally told Morgan you were pregnant," Spencer said sheepishly.

"Spencer," Emily whined as she slapped him on the shoulder playfully. "You are terrible at keeping secrets."

"Do you know how many secrets I've held over the years?" he said eyeing her out. "Everyone would tell me their secrets because they knew I didn't have anyone to betray them to."

Emily frowned.

"Well, now you have plenty of people to betray those secrets to," she said brushing a stray piece of hair from his eyes.

Spencer burst out laughing.

"Thank you?"

Emily laughed with him and gave him another quick kiss.

"Well, I guess we'll have to tell them all soon anyway. I won't be able to hide this much longer. At the rate I'm growing, I have less than a month before I can't conceal this baby," she said rubbing her stomach.

"How about Friday night? We can go out after work and make the announcement then?" Spencer suggested.

"That sounds good. I'll have pictures to show off," she said excitedly.

"Friday it is," Spencer said pulling her in for another kiss.

(xxxxx)

Spencer was in the middle of cooking dinner when Emily called his name. She sounded panicked. He put the spoon down and walked toward the bedroom.

"Em?" he called.

She appeared in the doorway, dressed in her suit.

"What's going on?" Spencer said, realizing they must be called on a case.

"Get dressed, we need to get to work now. I just got a call they need us in Mississippi immediately. A group of kids were kidnapped from a children's museum," Emily said as she slipped on her boots.

By this time, Spencer was already in work mode. He hurried off to the kitchen to turn off the stove and oven. Tossed the pots and pans into the sink, before hurrying back to the bedroom to get dressed.

(xxxxx)

The team set up their command post at the police station. Pictures of the missing kids were tacked onto the board with information regarding their disappearance. All five of the missing kid's parents were anxiously waiting in separate rooms to be interviewed.

Spencer and Tara stepped into one of the offices to talk with the parents of one of the missing girls, Kenley Parker.

"Mr. and Mrs. Parker, I am Agent Lewis and this is Dr. Reid, we are here to help find your daughter. Can you tell us what happened today?" Tara asked as she took a seat near the mother.

The mother seemed terrified. She glanced at her husband who wouldn't even touch her.

"I took Kenley to the children's museum and we were playing in the supermarket. She was at the register, while I pretended to shop. There was a lady nearby with her son. They were putting fruit and vegetables into the hanging scale," she stopped as tears filled her eyes.

"It's ok Mrs. Parker, you are doing great. What happened next?"

The woman clutched her purse with shaking hands. "The little boy bumped the scale and all the fruit and veggies went everywhere. I bent over to help clean up the mess. When I looked back up …" she looked at her husband who was scowling at her. "I'm so sorry."

The woman began to sob. Tara handed her a tissue as she rubbed the woman's back soothingly.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Tara said.

The husband made a humph sound and turned further away from his wife.

"Mr. Parker, I realize you are scared for your child, but you have to know this is not anyone's fault except for the person who took your daughter," Spencer said.

"She shouldn't have looked away," the man growled.

"Unsub's like this – " Spencer began before he was interrupted.

"What's an unsub?" the man snapped.

"It's an unknown subject," Tara answered.

"Unsub's like this are professionals. They know how to distract, to play on people's kindness. Your wife had no reason to believe that helping that mother and child was a danger to your child. These people watch and wait. They have patience. If it wasn't that moment, it could have been any other moment," Spencer explained as the woman wept, with what he hoped was some sense of relief.

"Sir, at a time like this, the worst thing you can do is blame. You and your wife need to stick together and comfort one another. We may need your help again and you'll need to be at your strongest," Tara said.

The man seemed to thaw a little at these words.

"So, what are the odds of finding my little girl alive?" he asked as tears filled his eyes.

"We are always hopeful, but in these types of cases we typically have a small window to find them," Spencer answered.

"How small?" the man said.

"24 hours," Spencer said. "That leaves us with 18 hours to search for her. Every second is going to count, which is why you must cooperate and work together."

The man looked at his wife and a flash of remorse crossed his eyes. He looked back at Spencer and nodded.

"Alright, we are going to go review our files on the other missing children and we will come back to you if we have any more questions," Tara said.

Spencer and she stood up, shaking the father's hand. They exited the room and went straight for the conference room. Emily was writing notes as they entered.

"Anything helpful?" Emily asked looking up from her paper.

Spencer went straight to the board and began scribbling notes underneath Kenley's picture.

"The unsub waited until Kenley's mom was distracted with a cleanup. By the time she looked up, Kenley was gone," Tara stated.

"I just finished speaking with the manager. Their surveillance has been broken for months. We won't have a single thing on tape. I am looking into getting tapes from surrounding stores, but the odds we will have anything clear will be slim," Emily said angrily.

"How does a business built for children not have working surveillance?" Spencer snapped.

"Don't worry, I've already taken care of that. They won't be opening their doors anytime soon," Emily said, her lip curling in disgust.

At that moment, Derek and J.J. walked into the room.

"So, Isabella Rodriguez was taken while her father was on his phone answering an email for work. His daughter was in the dinosaur section. He said the last time he saw her was at least 10 minutes. He thought she was safe in the facility," J.J. said with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Same sort of story with Tucker Hudson's dad. He was posting photos on Instagram while his son played in the dinosaur exhibit. He didn't believe there was any danger in a place designed for children," Rossi said walking into the room.

"Great, a police station full of parents of the year," Spencer said rolling his eyes.

Nobody said anything to disagree, but J.J. looked at Derek with concern. Spencer wasn't usually this vocal or judgmental of victims unless it was personal to him.

"So, is there more than one unsub?" Derek said ignoring J.J.

"I would say there are at least two of them. Based off the timeline of disappearance, I don't think one person could pull off five kids on their own without suspicion.

"Well, we still have two more families to talk to. Who's up for it?" Emily asked.

Spencer turned his back to the group, signaling he clearly wasn't interested. Tara offered to go with Derek, while J.J. went with Rossi to talk to the remaining parents.

(xxxxx)

Spencer, Derek, Luke, and Tara were sent to a rundown warehouse where the unsub was suspected to be hiding with the missing children. The building was large and incredibly creepy looking. Derek and Tara ran to the back of the building, while Luke and Spencer entered through the front.

They both held their guns out in front of themselves and moved slowly through the hallway. Most doors were missing, so they were able to peer into each room and clear them. At the end of the hallway, Spencer found steps leading down to a basement.

He slowly moved down the stairs taking note of the stifling heat and the awful stench the further he got. Most of the basement was dark. There were more rooms that he peered in with his flashlight and gun. He heard a sound further down the hall. It sounded like a cough.

He inched slowly down the hallway toward the sound. The closer he got to the end of the hallway, the worse the smell was. He leaned against the wall of the room he believed the sound came from. His heart was racing. He quickly shined his light into the room and held out his gun.

He holstered the weapon immediately when he saw cages filled with children.

"Everything is going to be ok. I'm here to help you. My name is Spencer and I'm with the FBI," he said as he bent down in front of one of the cages and tried to open it.

Inside the little blond shook with fear. Her face covered in dirt and her dress torn.

"Do you know where the keys are kept to get you out?" Spencer asked.

"The man has them," one of the little boys said.

"I've got four of the kids in the west-end of the basement," Spencer said into his com-link.

"On my way," he heard Luke reply.

Spencer used his flashlight to shine on the kids. One of the girls had her hair in braided pigtails. He walked over to her.

"Hi sweetheart. I'm Spencer, what's your name?"

"Isabella," she whimpered.

"What a beautiful name. I am going to get you out of here ok?"

The little girl nodded.

"Isabella, may I borrow one of the pins in your hair?" he asked gently.

The little girl shook her head as she lifted a tiny hand to pull out a bobby pin. With a shaking hand, she handed it through the bars to Spencer. He started with her cage and began picking the lock. In moments, he had the lock opened.

"Come on out. We are going to get you to your mom and dad, ok?" Spencer said holding out a hand for her.

She crawled toward his hand before grabbing it and climbing out. Spencer gave her a reassuring smile before moving onto the next lock. It took him about 5 minutes to have each of the kids out of their cages. When he finished the last one, Luke arrived.

"Lewis and Morgan are in pursuit of two of the unsubs. The third one is still missing," Luke informed Spencer.

"He must have the last child, we are missing one," Spencer said.

Luke looked at the kids and back at Spencer.

"You take them out of here, I'm going to go look in the last few rooms," Spencer said.

Luke seemed a bit hesitant, but he finally nodded.

"Hi, my name is Luke and I'm going to get you guys out of here. I want you to all stay close to me," he instructed.

Luke and the kids walked off together, while Spencer went in the opposite direction to find the last child. He peered into a few more rooms, before reaching one room that had tables, chains, and tools. It smelled unreal in here. Blood, vomit, feces, and other disturbing items littered the floor and walls.

He walked into the room slowly with his gun held out and his flashlight shining around the room. Finally, it landed on a man huddled in the corner with a girl in his arms. His hands covered her mouth and he held her tightly.

"Joey, I'm Spencer Reid with the FBI. I don't want to hurt you," Spencer said in a calm voice.

"Momma said no. Momma said no," the man repeated.

"Joey, your mom and dad they are doing bad things. They are hurting these children Joey. You are a good boy and I know you would never hurt anyone," Spencer said inching closer.

"No, momma loves Joey. She said the kids will make Joey all fixed," he said scratching his messy hair.

"Joey, there is nothing wrong with you. You are not broken. You don't need to be fixed."

Joey shook his head.

"No, no I'm stupid. Joey is stupid. Daddy says Joey is stupid," he said as he slapped the side of his head.

"Joey, listen to me. Your dad is the broken one. You are a smart and loving person. Let me ask you something. Do you like the kids that your mom and dad bring home?"

Joey seemed to think about it before nodding.

"They are Joey's friends," he said as he squeezed the girl in his arms tighter.

"That's great Joey! See, you are a good boy. You are not stupid. Only a smart boy could have friends," Spencer said.

"Joey has lots of friends. Joey is smart!" he said excitedly.

"Yes, yes you are Joey. Do you want to be my friend?" Spencer asked him.

Joey got a big smile on his face and nodded.

"Ok, great. Why don't you come with me outside? I have more friends who would like to be your friend too? We will take you somewhere to get something to eat," Spencer said as he placed his gun back in the holster.

Joey seemed to get nervous. He looked around the room terrified.

"Your dad is not here Joey. He isn't able to stop you from having friends anymore. I promise," Spencer said.

"He takes my friends away," Joey said sadly as he snuggled the girl in his arms.

"He won't do that anymore Joey. He can't take your friends away from you," Spencer promised.

Joey stared at the floor. Spencer waited patiently, until Joey opened his arms and the little girl ran straight for Spencer. He bent down and picked her up into his arms. She buried her face in his neck as she shook with fear.

Joey stood up from the floor and started walking towards Spencer.

"Joey, I need you to walk in front of me so I can make sure you get to my friends safely, ok?" Spencer said.

"Ok, Joey walk to your friends," he said skipping in front of Spencer.

When they emerged outside, Rossi and J.J. approached slowly. Spencer had his hand up to keep anyone from rushing in on Joey. He saw the police still surrounding them with guns held out.

"Put the guns away! Put them down!" Spencer was shouting.

Rossi was waving his hands and shouting for them to put them down as well. They slowly lowered their weapons and waited.

"Jennifer, this is my friend Joey. Joey, this is Jennifer she wants to be your friend too," Spencer said.

"Hi Joey," J.J. said smiling at him.

"Hi. Spencer said we were getting something to eat," Joey said happily as he tangled his fingers together.

"Yes, absolutely. Come with me and we will get you whatever you want to eat," J.J. said trying to lead him toward the waiting SUV.

As Joey was being loaded into the car, Emily came walking towards Spencer with a man and woman who were crying. He figured them to be this little girl's parents.

"Kenley, your mom and dad are here," Spencer whispered to the little girl in his arms.

She lifted her head from his shoulder and glanced behind her.

"Mommy!" she squealed.

Spencer placed her on the ground and she took off running toward her parents. Emily approached Spencer.

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

"I'm alright. You?"

"Not going to lie, a bit shaken. Kind of queasy," she frowned.

"Yea," he said understanding her emotions. "I have a feeling when the adrenaline wear's off I'll be feeling the same."

She patted his back. He knew she was offering affection in the most professional way possible. The two walked off together to head back to the station.


	30. Chapter 30

_Here is a mini chapter. It went with the last chapter so I wanted to add it real quick. Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer and Emily led the group into the police station to gather up their belongings. As they rounded the corner to the conference room, they heard someone screaming and the sound of furniture being knocked around. Spencer shot a look at Emily before running off toward the sound.

He reached the interrogation room within moments and saw two officers beating a screaming Joey. He ran to the door and flung it open.

"What the hell are you doing?" Spencer shouted as he ran to drag the officers off of Joey.

Spencer and one of the officers began wrestling each other. Soon the room, was full of superior officers as well as Emily, Luke, and Derek. In a flurry of activity, the officers and Spencer were separated from Joey.

"What is going on here?" one of the men yelled.

By this time, Joey had backed himself into a corner and was hitting himself. Spencer broke out of the officer's grasp and went over to calm him down. He reached out and tried to grab Joey's arms.

"Joey, stop! Joey it's ok, you are ok. It's Spencer, Joey," he said as he pulled on Joey's arms.

Joey was screaming, but opened one eye.

"It's Spencer. It's ok. I'm here," he said as Joey stopped screaming.

"I wanted French fries. Spencer said we'd eat together," Joey said as he tried to catch his breath.

"Yes, it's on the way," Spencer assured him.

"They hit Joey cause Joey is bad. Spencer said Joey was good," he said twisting his hands together tightly.

"You are not bad Joey. Those officers made a mistake. You are a good boy," Spencer said placing his hands over Joey's.

Joey looked at Spencer's hands and then up at Spencer. His eyes were glassy with fear and confusion. He knew the look all too well.

"Spencer left. Spencer was supposed to stay with me," Joey said now rocking back and forth.

"I'm sorry Joey. I won't leave you now. I will stay with you until we get you into a safe home with lots of friends," Spencer said sitting down next to Joey.

"Spencer won't leave me?"

"No, I won't leave you," he said looking up to see Emily and Derek watching the interaction.

They all watched with sympathy. Emily's hand was unconsciously on her stomach. Spencer knew this was overly emotional for her, but to her credit she held back the tears.

"J.J. went to get food. It should be here shortly," Emily said softly.

Spencer nodded. He glanced over at Joey, who was still rocking in place and whispering over and over to himself, "Joey is a good boy."

(xxxxx)

Derek opened a glass door and walked toward a reception desk. It was early morning and the team was exhausted, but they had one last thing to do before going home.

"Hi, may I help you?" the young woman behind the desk asked.

"We are here to see Dr. Howard," Derek said.

"If you'd like to take a seat I'll page him for you," she said smiling.

Derek walked over to the chairs where Spencer and Joey sat looking at a highlights magazine.

"Can you find the mitten?" Spencer asked Joey.

Joey took the magazine and began searching the page for the hidden mitten. Derek didn't even have a chance to sit down when a door opened and a doctor emerged.

"Dr. Reid, Agent Morgan," the man said walking towards them. "I'm Dr. Howard."

They shook hands and greeted one another.

"This must be Joey," Dr. Howard said.

Joey didn't look up from his magazine. Spencer kneeled in front of the chair.

"Joey, I want you to meet a friend of mine," Spencer said.

Joey didn't respond until he lifted the magazine and pointed to a mitten hidden in the shower curtain.

"Very good Joey. Can I introduce you to my friend now?" Spencer asked.

Joey nodded and stood up. He glanced quickly at Dr. Howard before averting his eyes to the floor.

"Hi, Joey. It's nice to meet you. I'd like to take you to see your new room. Spencer told me all of your favorite things and we put them in the room for you," Dr. Howard said softly.

They all followed Dr. Howard to the elevator where he punched in a code and took them to fourth floor. When they got off the elevator it was like stepping into his mom's facility. There were adults of all ages in various states of consciousness. The ones that were awake were like toddlers, playing with toys and puzzles.

It crushed his soul to see people like this. They stopped in front of a room, where Dr. Howard pulled open the door. They stepped inside and Joey looked around. He walked over to the bed and looked at it.

"Joey likes blue," he said touching the fabric.

"Yes, Spencer told us that," Dr. Howard said.

Joey walked over to the little box on the floor and opened the lid. He reached inside and pulled out a car. He smiled and began to giggle. He reached in and grabbed another car.

"Joey likes cars! Joey likes cars!" he squealed as he kept pulling out more cars.

Spencer walked over to Joey and bent down.

"Joey, I have to go now. I can't stay with you, but I'll come back and visit you. I want you to make lots of friends here so when I come back to see you, you can introduce me to them, ok?" Spencer said feeling a bit choked up.

Joey stopped playing with his cars. He looked at them quietly before he turned and pulled Spencer into a hug. Spencer glanced at Derek and Dr. Howard who were smiling at him. He patted Joey's back until Joey pulled away from him.

"Spencer is a good boy," Joey said placing a hand on Spencer's face.

Spencer smiled and stood up. He walked back over to Derek and Dr. Howard, while Joey went back to looking at the cars.

"He'll do great here. I just have a few papers for you to fill out and your contact information," Dr. Howard said.

"Sure," Spencer replied.

As they walked out the door, Joey looked up and caught Spencer's eyes. He could see the happiness in them and it melted his heart. Joey smiled at Spencer and he returned the gesture.

"Bye Joey," he whispered before walking off.


	31. Chapter 31

_I have been trying to update, but kept sending me errors when I tried to upload. So it's their fault you had to wait for this. Anyway, here it is – the reveal of Spencer and Emily's baby. Will it be a boy or a girl? Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer and Derek walked into the office exhausted. It had been a rough few days and an emotional morning. As they walked towards their desk, J.J. came trotting over.

"Hey Spence, something's wrong with Emily," she said with concern in her eyes.

Spencer didn't stop to ask questions he just hustled to the stairs and ran up them to Emily's office.

"She's locked herself in and won't open it. We've been trying to get in there for the past hour," J.J. explained as they reached the door.

Spencer jiggled the handle and found it to be locked. He knocked on the door.

"Emily, it's me. Let me in," he said.

At first, they were greeted by silence. Spencer knocked again.

"Only you," they heard her say from behind the door.

Spencer looked at J.J. and Derek. They nodded their understanding and agreement.

"Ok, just me," he said.

They heard the door unlock and it opened, but Emily hid behind the door. Spencer stepped inside and she pushed the door shut quickly relocking it.

"What's going on?" Spencer asked as Emily turned to him.

He could see she had been crying and she looked pale.

"I can't do this, I can't do this anymore," she said practically hyperventilating.

"Do what?" Spencer asked as he took her hand and lead her to the couch off to the side.

"This job! I can't do this!" she said gasping for air.

"Ok, ok. Come here," he said reaching out to pull her into his arms. "First, you need to take deep breaths. Follow my breathing."

Spencer took deep breaths in and out, while Emily shakily copied him. After a few minutes, she had settled down enough that he approached the subject again.

"Why can't you do this job? You are great at it," he said as she sat up to look at him.

"Those kids. Those poor babies that were taken and what was done to them. That could be our child. Someone could take our child. Look what happened to Gideon and Hotch. These people … they go after the people we love. I can't do this. I can't let someone hurt our baby," she said beginning to cry again.

Spencer pulled her back into his arms as she sobbed into his chest.

"Em, I know you are scared. Believe me, I am too. But we can't live our lives wondering what if. Those children that were taken, none of their parents were law enforcement or government. So, it could happen whether you are in the FBI or not," he said trying to calm her fears.

"When you walked towards me … and that girl … she was holding you so tight and … I had this flash of that being our future and that was our child you had to save," she said leaning on her knees to cover her face.

"I know. I had that moment too," Spencer said rubbing her back gently.

"How are you so calm about this?" Emily snapped as she looked up at him.

Spencer gave a small chuckle. "Babe, you are running on some strong hormones from the fetus. It is natural that something traumatic like the last case would affect you differently than me."

Emily nodded and looked back down at her feet.

"But please don't mistake that for me not caring or being worried about you and our child," he said.

Emily looked up at him and stared into his eyes. She leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his.

"I know. We are so blessed to have you and I'm sorry I'm overreacting," she said.

"Em, you are not overreacting. Those are your feelings and you are not out of line to feel that way when you see the atrocities that we see. I just don't want you to dwell on what could be and base your decisions on fear. I will support you, no matter what you chose to do. Just do it because it's truly what you want, not what you think is safe," he said giving her a gentle kiss.

"When did you get to be so wise," she said smiling at him.

"I think when I was 3," he joked.

Emily gave him another kiss.

"I know we planned on waiting, but I have a feeling that no one will be satisfied with waiting another two days to find out why you locked yourself in this office," Spencer said.

"Ugh, I know. I really wanted to wait, but you're right. Ok, let me gather everyone," she said sighing.

Emily walked to the door and unlocked it. As she swung the door open, Penelope, Derek, and Luke took off running as if they hadn't just been eavesdropping.

"Oh, hey, Emily. We were just –" Derek started.

"Yea, yea. Come on nosey, gather the troops. I need to talk to you," she said smirking at them.

Within moments, the team had gathered in her office. Emily and Spencer moved to stand by her desk, while the team made a half moon in front of them.

"I know I've been a bit off lately and I'm sure today was a big cause of concern for you all," Emily began.

"You aren't leaving us, are you?" Penelope asked nervously.

Emily held up her hand to stop her.

"At some point, yes, I will be leaving," Emily started and nearly the entire group gasped.

Spencer watched in amusement at their dropped jaws and worried looks.

"Let me explain before you go off the deep end," Emily said grinning. "As of now, I don't expect it to be permanent only for a few months."

"Are you sick?" Penelope said with concern in her eyes.

Emily smiled at her. "No, I'm not sick," she glanced back at Spencer who smiled and nodded at her. "Spencer and I are expecting."

The gasps and squeals erupted. Everyone went around the room to congratulate them.

"How far along are you?" J.J. asked.

"I'm actually in my 5th month," she said. "Look at this though. I'm so much bigger than you were at 5 months."

Emily lifted her shirt to show the bump that was nearly too big to hide anymore. The girls immediately placed their hands on her stomach and awed.

"Oh my gosh, a baby genius!" Penelope cried as she rubbed Emily's tummy.

"I have an appointment on Friday morning," Emily told the girls.

"Are you going to find out the sex?" Tara asked.

"Uh, I don't know. We never really talked about it," Emily said furrowing her brow and looking to Spencer.

"It's up to you. I'm good either way," Spencer said.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to see on Friday," Emily shrugged.

(xxxxx)

The technician put the warm gel across Emily's belly. She swirled the stick across her skin to spread it out as she prepared the computer.

"Alright, before we get started, do you want to know the sex of the baby?"

Emily looked at Spencer who was smiling at her.

"Whatever you want," he said holding her hand.

"Ok, yes we want to know," Emily replied.

The tech nodded and began to press down on Emily's belly with the stick. The sound of a thumping heart beat echoed across the monitor. Spencer watched the screen in awe as a little head appeared. He felt his heart skip a beat and tears well up in his eyes. There on that screen was his child. He created that with Emily.

"I'm going to see if I can view the babies gender from this side. If the baby doesn't cooperate we'll try having you move on your side," the tech said.

She moved the stick to Emily's side and she let out a little laugh.

"Would you look at that," the tech said grinning.

She turned to look at Emily and Spencer who waited for her to tell them what they were looking at.

(xxxxx)

It was a long day of holding in the news. There were many attempts to trick, bribe, or beg for the results. Emily even enlisted Kevin's help to send an alarm straight to Emily's computer, if Penelope tried to hack the OB-GYN's online records.

Finally work ended and the team rushed off to Rossi's for dinner. Emily and Spencer stood outside the door to his house and looked at one another.

"So, this is it. Are you ready?" she asked squeezing his hand.

"Yea, I'm ready," he said, but they didn't move.

They kept staring at the front door.

"You know, this is kind of a surreal moment for me," Spencer said. "I am standing in front of Rossi's home, my fiancée is Emily Prentiss, and she's about to announce the sex of our baby. If only I could go back to my 8-year-old self this … who am I kidding, I wouldn't believe me," he said still staring at the door.

"It is strange. I never imagined this moment. I saw me growing with the FBI and eventually dying alone. Who knew my shy, nerdy co-worker would grow to become not only my best friend, but my husband. I wouldn't believe me either," she said turning to face him. "I love you."

He smiled and gave her a kiss. "I love you too."

"Alright, we've made them wait long enough. Let's go," she said opening the front door and walking inside.

They barely stepped into the living room before everyone was on their feet and staring expectantly at them. Spencer and Emily stopped in their tracks and stared back at the group.

"We aren't going to eat or anything first?" Emily said.

"Nice try. You better spill if we are having a girl or boy genius or I will slash your tires," Penelope said with a joking glare.

Spencer and Emily laughed.

"Ok, Spence you want to say it at the same time?" she asked.

"Sure," he agreed.

"Ok, on 3. 1 – 2 – 3."

"Girl." "Boy."

The team's smiles melted away into confusion.

"Wait, what? You didn't find out the sex?" Penelope said gawking at them.

"Is this a joke?" J.J. asked.

Spencer and Emily laughed again.

"No, it's not a joke and yes we found out the babies' sex," Emily grinned.

"Hold up, are you telling us you are having a boy and a girl?" Derek said.

Emily and Spencer nodded. Suddenly the room erupted in screams as they were bombarded with hugs and kisses.

"Oh my gosh, twins!" Penelope cried.

"Reid, I'm impressed. Not only did you get Prentiss pregnant, but you did it twice," Derek joked.

The rest of the night the team gushed over the news. Spencer and Emily never looked more radiant. The glow of being new parents, shown brightly that evening.


	32. Chapter 32

_Time for the wedding! I have another story aching to get out – so I may dual write. It won't interfere with updates for this story. Though I do feel it is nearing its end. Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

"Where are we going?" Emily asked as she shifted in her seat.

"You'll see when we get there," Spencer laughed. "It's like riding with a child."

Emily reached over and gently pinched his arm. He laughed and flinched at the sting it left behind. She returned to looking out the window at the few homes that they passed. She wondered where exactly this wedding venue was and how Spencer found it.

After a few more minutes of driving, Spencer pulled into the driveway of an adorable colonial style house. It reminded Emily of the stories she used to read as a child about the old South. It wasn't large, but a decent size. The garden was well maintained and a giant tree shaded the front yard.

They climbed out of the car and walked up the front steps onto the covered porch. Spencer walked over to a lockbox that hung on the door. He typed in a code and opened it to retrieve the key. He unlocked the door and the two of them stepped inside.

The house was lightly furnished. Nothing extravagant. Emily followed Spencer through the home to the backdoor. He unlocked the door and slid it open to reveal a gorgeous backyard. It was large with a stone path that was surrounded by flowers and trees. It was breathtaking.

"Spencer, this is beautiful. How did you find this place?" Emily said as she looked around in awe.

"You like it?" he asked turning to watch her.

"Like it? I love it. It's like its straight out of a fairytale," she said still fascinated with the sights.

"It's ours if you want it," Spencer said casually.

"Yes, I'd love to. Who do we book it with?" she asked turning to face him.

Spencer laughed before reaching out to grab Emily's hands.

"No, this place can be ours if you want it," he repeated.

Emily let his words settle in her brain. Her eyes grew larger and her jaw dropped.

"You mean live here?" she said.

Spencer nodded. Emily looked around the yard and back to the house. He could see tears filling her eyes as she began to blink rapidly.

"How," she whispered.

"It's one of the homes Morgan was fixing. There's a lot of room to grow here and plenty of land for the kids to play. I thought it was perfect, but I want you to have a say in it. If you don't want to live here, we can –"

Emily cut him off as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. She pulled back and smiled at his surprised expression.

"When can we move in?" she asked excitedly.

"Whenever you're ready," he said smiling at her.

"And the wedding … we could do it right here in the backyard?"

"If you'd like to. It was a thought, but again, I want you to do what makes you happy," he said.

"Oh honey, I'm about to do what makes me happy right now," Emily said seductively. "Let's go check out that bedroom, shall we?"

"Babe, you know it's not furnished right," he said eyeing her out.

"I don't need a bed. I just need you. Now," she said grabbing his hand and tugging him toward the house.

(xxxxx)

It was a beautiful September evening. The team gathered at Spencer and Emily's new home for their wedding. It was a little chilly outside, but Rossi paid for a tent to be erected which helped against the fall breeze.

Inside the house, Emily stood in front of the mirror looking at herself. She frowned as she turned sideways and then forward again.

"Why did I think having the wedding before the babies was a good idea?" she grumbled.

"You look stunning," Penelope insisted.

"I look pregnant. I never thought I'd care, but I guess I did imagine myself looking more …" she trailed off.

"Em, you look beautiful and you know Spence. He is going to be in awe of you as always," J.J. assured her. "I've never seen him look at you any other way."

"I know. He's always complementing me. I just … I wish that I could enjoy this a bit more. I'm sore, I'm tired, I'm hungry, I'm emotional," she whined. "I don't want to be a whiny brat on my wedding day."

"Then knock it off! Put a smile on that face, get your ass up, and let's get you dressed!" Penelope ordered.

"You heard the woman," J.J. said as she and Tara laughed.

(xxxxx)

Spencer stood at the end of the walkway. His heart was racing as he bounced on the balls of his feet. He adjusted his red tie and tugged on his black suit jacket to make sure it looked crisp. Derek came walking toward him and stopped right in front of him.

"You ready, kid?" he said grinning.

"Yes, if I don't faint first," Spencer replied nervously.

Derek laughed and patted him on the shoulders. Music began to play softly and everyone quieted down. The flap of the tent opened and Henry came walking down the aisle carrying a pillow. He looked so adorable in his suit that matched Spencer's.

When he reached Spencer, he and Derek both gave him a high five. Next, J.J. pushed through the tent. She was wearing a long sparkling red dress that shimmered in the light. The music changed and everyone stood to look to the back.

Spencer swallowed hard. The tent opened and Emily walked through with Rossi on her arm. Her empire white dress draped over her body perfectly. Her hair was left down, but had a few slight curls added to the end.

Spencer felt a few tears slip down his cheek. She looked like an angel. Emily only made it halfway to Spencer before she began crying as well. Once she reached him, Rossi gave her a kiss on both cheeks before letting go of her.

Spencer took Emily's hands in his and smiled at her through the tears.

"You look breathtaking," he said softly.

Emily let out a small laugh as tears dripped from her eyes.

"You look smokin' hot," she said and the two burst out laughing together.

The music stopped and the ceremony began. Rossi led them through the initial readings and blessings. When it came time for the vows, he stepped back to let Emily and Spencer speak.

"I'm going to go first, because I know if I wait until Spencer speaks, I won't be able to talk anymore," she said making the audience and Spencer laugh.

"I was raised to be an Ambassador's daughter. To dress, eat, speak, and behave as though I was a 60-year old woman. This left me very alone, very confused, and very lost. I spent my entire adolescent years trying to find out who I was.

As an adult, I realized I was good at profiling others. I was able to understand their thoughts and feelings. I knew who random strangers were and yet still had no idea who I was. For some reason I'll never understand, but am eternally grateful for, I fell in love with you.

Your love has repaired so many wounds and helped me find out who I am. I am a strong and opinionated. I am faithful and honest to a fault. Despite my hard exterior, my interior is full of compassion. But most importantly, I am head over heels, beyond the stars in love with you and will spend my entire life cherishing every moment we have together. You are more than just my soul mate, you are my soul."

Emily broke at the end as tears streamed down her cheeks. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see J.J. handing her a tissue. Emily thanked her and dabbed at her eyes.

"Emily, I spent many nights trying to think of the perfect words to say to you. To describe how grateful I am to have you in my life. To express the overwhelming love I have for you, but nothing could adequately explain what you've done for my life.

We all know my past. We've all laughed at my social awkwardness and we've all become annoyed with my need to have an answer for everything. Somehow through all of this, you saw something in me that no one ever has. You looked beyond my quirks and you found not only something you liked, but something you loved.

I will never understand out of all the men in this world, why you chose me to be your husband. But I promise to never make you regret that decision. I will take care of you and our children. I will always be there when you need me. I will always stand by your side through thick and thin. And I will love you with all of my entire being. You will never question my love for you.

You are an answer to 36 years of praying for happiness. You are my miracle."

Emily continued to cry and dab at the tears that fell. Spencer wiped at a few tears that escaped his eyes as well. Rossi continued with the rest of the ceremony until he announced, "you may kiss the bride."

Spencer placed his hands on Emily's cheeks and pressed his lips to hers. He gave a few small nips, before they separated. Spencer held Emily's hand and walked her down the aisle to the sound of claps and whistles. It was time to celebrate Dr. and Mrs. Spencer Reid.


	33. Chapter 33

_Sorry for the delay! I had to go back and reread this story because I started forgetting details and getting confused. Probably a bad idea to write two stories at once without notes of some sort. Anyway, hope you like this chapter and thanks as always for the awesome comments. Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Music blared through the tent as everyone mingled with one another. Derek and Savannah were dancing happily together in front of the DJ, while Penelope and Luke flirted with one another nearby. Rossi was at the bar chatting with the bar tender, while Will and Gideon stood nearby laughing.

At one of the tables, J.J. and Spencer sat talking while they tried to get Henry to eat something. Emily was at a different table with her feet propped up, talking to her Mom, Mrs. Reid, and one of her designated caretakers, Laura. Alex Blake stood with her husband telling stories with Kate Callahan and her husband near the tent entrance.

It was a small, intimate gathering, but they were more than happy.

"Ok, it's time for the bride and groom to come to the dance floor for the first dance as husband and wife. Now according to Spencer, they had a difficult time finding a song that they wanted to dance to. So, they both chose their own song to dedicate to the other. Emily requested that Spencer's song be first," the DJ said into his microphone.

Emily stood in front of the DJ waiting for Spencer, who was walking slowly toward her. Despite being in a small gathering, with only friends and family, he looked nervous. Emily gave him a reassuring smile and held out her hand.

He smiled in return and took her hand. Pulling her close to his body, he wrapped one arm around her waist and the other held tightly to her hand. He bent down to give her a small chaste kiss. The music started playing and Emily laughed at his choice. Tears slipped from her eyes.

"Maroon 5, how appropriate," she grinned.

 _Woke up sweating from a dream  
With a different kind of feeling  
All day long my heart was beating  
Searching for the meaning_

 _Hazel eyes, I was so color blind  
We were just wasting time  
For my whole life, we never crossed the line  
Only friends in my mind, but now I realize_

 _It was always you  
Can't believe I could not see it all this time  
All this time  
It was always you  
Now I know why my heart wasn't satisfied, Satisfied  
It was always you  
No more guessing who  
Looking now I know it was always you, always you_

 _All my hidden desires  
Finally came alive  
No, I never told lies  
To you so why would I  
Start tonight_

The song continued as they danced together. Unaware of everyone around them. Being completely wrapped up in each other. When the song ended they were brought back to reality by the clapping around them. They both smiled and kissed again before Emily stepped away to go to the DJ.

Spencer watched as she held her hand out and took the microphone. He smiled with a questioning look on his face as she turned around to face him.

"So, I had a hard time finding a song. Not because there wasn't a love song out there to describe how I feel about you. There were too many. Then, one afternoon while driving home from the store, I heard a song on the radio and knew that it was the one.

Buuuuutttttt, I didn't want to have to dance again. Not that dancing with you isn't fun, but being the center of attention is definitely not our thing. Which, now that I say that out loud, I realize how incredibly odd my choice is."

Spencer furrowed his brow and glanced around to see if anyone knew what she was talking about. They were all watching her with the same anticipation. He looked back at Emily when the music started up. Emily brought the microphone to her lips and began to sing to him.

 _You were insecure, but I was so sure  
but I wanted you  
Yes, I'm powerful, not a little girl  
but I wanted you  
So I told you so, wanted you to know  
We've just one life to live_

 _And I told you all my dreams and fears  
And you looked at me and your eyes filled with tears  
And you said those three words I'd been waiting for  
You became a part of me_

 _You're mine, for life  
And I'll be by your side  
We are entwined  
You're mine, for life  
Hold me until we die  
I'm yours and you are mine_

 _I'm yours, Your mine  
I'm yours, your mine_

 _Now I'm so happy, you found a place for me  
Boy you wanted me  
Some security and two heartbeats  
Boy you wanted me  
Then you told me so, wanted me to know  
You let the past go_

As Emily sang, Spencer pursed his lips. Tears slipping from his eyes as he watched his wife singing the most beautiful song to him. Besides the angelic sound of her powerful voice, the emotion behind it was overwhelming.

When she finished singing, Spencer walked straight to her and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. They didn't even hear the sound of clapping and whistling surrounding them. They were broken out of their make-out session, by Derek who flicked water from a nearby glass at them.

"Hey, keep it PG," he joked as everyone laughed.

The rest of the night went off without a hitch. Emily threw her bouquet and Penelope caught it after threatening a hack to everyone's computer if she didn't catch it. Luke caught the garter belt, which made watching him put it on Penelope that much funnier.

During the cake cutting, Spencer and Emily very sweetly fed each other. Not happy with this, Derek smashed cake in Spencer's face, while Penelope got Emily. They enjoyed drinking, dancing, and laughing the night away.

It was after midnight before everyone left, leaving Spencer and Emily alone in their new home as husband and wife. Spencer stood in front of the bedroom door waiting for Emily to walk up the stairs. When she got there he bent down with his arms out.

"What's this?" she asked.

"I have to carry you over the threshold," he said smiling.

"Babe, that's sweet, but you'll be carrying three of us," Emily said as she patted her belly.

"It's not that far. I can do it," he assured her.

"Ok, if you insist," she said.

Spencer, surprisingly, lifted Emily off her feet and carried her to the bed. He gently placed her down on the edge and then pretended to be in pain. Emily laughed and slapped his shoulder.

"So, Mrs. Reid, what should we do now?" Spencer said grinning mischievously.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe, we should just go to sleep," Emily teased.

"Maybe," Spencer replied.

"Or," Emily said as she slowly pushed her dress straps off her shoulder.

She stood up and let the dress slide down her body until it was on the floor in a heap. Spencer undid his tie and tossed both it and his jacket onto the floor. Emily stepped forward and started unbuttoning his shirt. While she did this, Spencer reached around behind her and unhooked her strapless bra.

Her breasts were always large to begin with, but now that she was pregnant they had become incredibly swollen. He ran his hands over them as she finished unbuttoning his shirt.

When she completed this process, he shrugged out of it. Emily ran her hands up his chest a few times, before they slid into his hair and pushed him down to her level. Their lips locked in a frenzy. Spencer felt Emily undoing his pants. She wasted no time pushing them down along with his boxer briefs.

"Get on the bed," Emily said huskily.

Spencer obliged and pulled the covers back. He climbed into the bed and noticed that Emily had shed her panties. She climbed onto the bed and straddled Spencer's lap. She bent down as best as she could with her protruding belly and gave him another kiss.

She was already so wet, she didn't need foreplay. She grabbed Spencer's throbbing dick and began working her way down it. Every inch of success caused them to moan in pleasure. Soon, Emily began bouncing up and down. Spencer held her hips as he thrusted up when she would come down.

They were both groaning and panting loudly. Since they were no longer in the apartment, they could express their enjoyment freely. The screams coming from Emily made it hard for Spencer to hold back. This amazing, gorgeous woman that agreed to marry him was shouting in sexual pleasure because of him. He never could've dreamed this would happen.

He heard Emily's grunting growing stronger and knew that she was getting closer. He held her tighter to his body as he thrusted and twisted his dick inside of her. Emily's eyes were squeezed shut and her mouth dropped open as Spencer continued to help drive her over the edge.

Despite hoping she would finish first, Spencer couldn't hold back any longer and released inside of her. Emily continued to ride him and only moments later, she cried out in ecstasy. She slid off him and laid on her side. Her arms and legs still draped over him as they tried to catch their breath.

"I love you so much," Emily whispered.

Spencer turned his head to face her and smiled tiredly.

"I love you more than life itself and I can't wait to wake up to that beautiful face every day for the rest of my life," Spencer responded.

He leaned over and gave her a few gentle kisses. Emily sat up and grabbed the blanket, pulling it over them. She snuggled against his body, his arms wrapped around her protectively.

"Goodnight, my love," Spencer said.

"Goodnight, my husband," she said.

It didn't take long before they both fell fast asleep.

(xxxxx)

 _A/N: the two songs used in this were: Maroon 5 – It was Always You and Lea Michele – You're Mine._


	34. Chapter 34

_I seem to be back on track with this story. I have an idea of what is happening in the next at least 4 chapters! So, hopefully I'll be able to share them with you sooner than later! Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer woke up the next morning to the feeling of kisses all over his neck and shoulder. He hummed in pleasure as his eyes fluttered open.

"Well, that's a nice way to wake up," he said as a smile crossed his face.

"Good morning, husband," Emily grinned as she propped herself up on her elbow.

"Good morning, wife. How did you sleep?" he asked rolling onto his side to view her better.

"Considering we didn't do a lot of sleeping, when I did rest it was well," she said running her hand up and down his arm.

"Yea, you were a bit insatiable last night," he responded with a smile.

"Can you blame me? Look at this gorgeous man I have next to me," she said as she gently used her fingers to touch his five o'clock shadow.

He blushed at this comment.

"No, I can't blame you, because if you didn't initiate I would have," he said pulling her close to his body. "I still can't believe that you are my wife. Sometimes I'm afraid to sleep because I think I'm going to wake up and this will all have been a dream."

Emily gave him a sympathetic smile. His childhood had led him to believe he was unworthy of love and that he was below everyone. He didn't see what she saw in him. She hoped in time this would wear off and he'd realize just how amazing he truly was.

"Baby, this is incredibly real and I am not going anywhere. Ever," Emily promised as she pressed her forehead against his.

"I know," he whispered as his fingers played with the tips of her hair.

With that, Emily brought her mouth to his and began kissing him deeply. She pressed him onto his back and climbed on top of him. Being pregnant, this was the only way they could really have sex in bed. It was dangerous and too difficult for her to lay on her back.

Spencer began to suck on her breasts as Emily cradled his head, her fingers massaging his scalp. After a moment, she slid back down and allowed him to push into her. The connection as usual, brought them to ecstasy. Their bodies pleading to become one.

Emily moved up and down as Spencer lifted his hips off the bed to meet her. Sweat lining his forehead as his movements grew quicker and more intense. Emily was moaning and screaming out Spencer's name, which only fed his hunger for her.

Not long after beginning, they both hit their climaxes. Emily slid off Spencer to drop to her side. They both laid in silence, trying to regain their breath.

"So, we have a week before we need to return to work. What do you want to do, besides have sex every 30 minutes?" Emily said with a small giggle.

"I figured I'd leave that up to you. Is there somewhere special you'd like to go? We can take a trip anywhere you'd like," Spencer said still flat on his back.

"Not really. Being an Ambassador's daughter, I've kinda seen it all," she replied. "Honestly, the idea of being here, cut off from the world, just you and me … that sounds heavenly. No plans, no phones, no cases, just do what we want when we want."

"That does sound nice. We haven't really taken time to just relax in a long time," Spencer agreed. "I am perfectly happy with this idea."

Emily leaned over and grabbed her phone. She typed in a message that went straight to Rossi. When she was finished, she smacked the phone shut and turned it off.

"I told Rossi I'm going off the grid for the week. If it's an emergency they know where to find us," she said smiling.

Spencer grabbed his phone and did the same thing.

"This is an odd feeling," he said as he put the phone down on the side table.

"It does feel kind of unsettling doesn't it. Yet at the same time, it's like a chain has been removed and I'm free to wander as I please," Emily said.

Spencer smiled and kissed her hand.

"I'm going to go make breakfast. I want you to stay in bed and just relax. Sleep or watch tv or read or stare at the ceiling. Just whatever you do, enjoy it," Spencer said as he slid out of bed.

"Awe, but I'm gonna miss that cute ass," Emily said pouting as he walked to the dresser.

Spencer laughed as he slipped on a pair of jeans, she didn't even know he owned. He didn't respond, but set out to go make breakfast.

(xxxxx)

"Oh, I've got something! I've got something," Spencer said excitedly.

Emily looked over from her end of the dock to see Spencer pulling hard on his fishing pole. She put her pole down and walked over to help.

"Ok, start to reel it in," she said.

Spencer obeyed and did what she had taught him earlier. He kept reeling until it emerged from the water.

"A boot? Seriously? I've been sitting here for an hour for a shoe?" Spencer frowned as he watched the water damaged boot dangle from his fishing line.

Emily tried to hold back her laughter, but couldn't.

"This is so not funny," Spencer snapped.

This only made Emily laugh harder. Spencer dropped his fishing reel and went running after her. Being almost 8 months along, she mostly waddled and he caught her easily. His arms went around her and held her tightly.

"No fair. I weigh 1,000 pounds," Emily said as Spencer bite her neck in a non-painful way.

"A snail could out run me Emily. No excuses," he said making her laugh. His biting turning into sucking.

"Oh, oh, they are moving," Emily said suddenly.

Spencer let go and moved around to stand in front of Emily. She lifted up her sundress, which made Spencer wiggle his eyebrows at her. She smiled and rolled her eyes. Spencer put his hand on her belly and felt the movement.

"Wow, that's a pretty strong kick," Spencer said.

Emily's stomach started changing shapes. One side grew smaller, while the other expanded. It did this multiple times.

"What's with the face?" Emily laughed as she looked at Spencer's grimace.

"It's like an alien is going to burst out - creepy," he said.

"Did you just say our children are creepy?" Emily said in mock anger.

"No, your stomach morphing into different shapes is creepy," he said. "Oh my God, Emily look."

Spencer pointed to the flatter side of her belly and gasped. Her skin showed a perfect shape of a foot pressing against her stomach.

"Spence! Look how little that foot is," Emily said as tears filled her eyes.

Spencer was now kneeling in front of Emily. His hand reached out and gently ran over the foot. It disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Spencer leaned forward, kissed her stomach, and pressed his forehead to it.

Emily noticed that his shoulders were shaking. She slowly lowered herself to the grass. Spencer's head was dropped, but she could tell he was crying.

"What's wrong?" Emily said with concern.

Spencer shook his head.

"Nothing is wrong. I just … those are my children in there. Emily, I know all of this is a big deal and I never thought it wasn't, but this," he stopped to try to regain composure. "This is the first time it's hit me that I'm going to be a father. The reality of it is hitting me like a sledge hammer."

"Are you worried?" she asked softly.

"No, I mean I guess the normal worry of a parent. I'm just incredibly happy and I don't think I've ever felt this emotion before. I've been happy and I've had an ok life, but marrying you and knowing we are about to start a family. I feel overcome with an emotion I've heard of, but didn't think was real," he said as tears streamed from his eyes.

Emily reached out and pulled him into her arms. He rested his head on her shoulder and held her tightly.

"I feel the same way baby. I don't know why I've been blessed, but I couldn't even dream up this amazing life we have. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I'm just sorry it took me so long to realize my soulmate was in front of me all along."

Spencer's lips quickly found Emily's and without a care in the world, the two of them made love right where they were. Thankfully between all the trees and the spaciousness of the homes, the only witnesses were birds and other critters.


	35. Chapter 35

_First, sorry to anyone who has DM'd me! I have been soooo busy I haven't had time to get on to Fanfiction, to read or write! I think I'm going through withdraw! Anyway, I promise to get back to you in the next few days!_

 _Second, I finally got a second to review this and decide if it was worth submitting. Hope you like it and thanks for the comments as always! Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

It was the morning Emily was set to go back to work. The week had flown by with more sex than Spencer imagined was possible. It was as if the only way to survive was to be one with each other. They only stopped to eat or use the restroom … and occasionally sleep.

Spencer still had two more days until he was due to return. They set different start and return dates for their vacation to make it seem as they had taken separate trips.

Emily stood in the bathroom putting the finishing touches on her makeup when Spencer appeared behind her. His hair was standing in all different directions and he still wore only his boxers from their previous midnight rendezvous.

Spencer walked up behind Emily and wrapped his arms around her, while placing a small kiss to her neck. She smiled at his reflection.

"Sleep well?" she asked.

"With you by my side? Always," he said softly.

Emily smiled and turned around in his arms. She wrapped herself around his neck and began kissing him. It started off gentle, but slowly grew in desire. Emily could feel his need for her pressing against her thigh. She forced herself to break their kiss.

"Baby, I have to go," she whispered.

"I know, sorry," he said. "You are just so irresistible."

Emily closed her eyes and began to chant, "I have to go to work, I have to go to work, I have to go to work."

Spencer chuckled as he walked over to turn the shower on. Emily was just about to finish her eyes, when her phone rang.

"Uh oh," Spencer laughed as he climbed into the shower.

"It's Rossi," she said to Spencer before answering. "Prentiss."

It was silent for a few moments while he ran shampoo through his hair. When he finished rinsing it out, he heard Emily curse and then heard nothing. He poked his head out of the shower and saw Emily leaning against the counter. Her head facing downward and her phone lying in front of her.

"What's wrong?" he said instantly concerned.

"They know," she said barely above a whisper.

Spencer stepped out of the shower and wrapped the blue towel around his waist, water still dripping down his body.

"Who knows what?" he said confused.

Emily looked up. Her face was pale and her eyes looked worried.

"Cruz called Rossi this morning and said that Leslie Ranch found out about us," she said.

"The Chief of Staff?" Spencer replied, though he knew the answer.

Emily started chewing on her fingernails, while Spencer stood behind her helplessly unsure what to say. They knew this was bound to happen, but so quickly was incredibly disappointing. What Emily didn't expect was to feel the sudden panic of losing her job.

"So, what do we do?" Spencer said breaking the silence.

"I guess, I go talk to Cruz and see what happens next," Emily said calmly, though inside she was screaming.

"I'll come with you," he said as he left the bathroom.

"You don't have to. I'm sure we will have many other meetings regarding this," she said with sadness in her tone.

"Emily, we do this together," he said with finality.

Emily nodded. Truthfully, she didn't want to do this alone. Despite being strong on the outside, she was terrified on the inside. The FBI was her life and she didn't know what she would do without it.

(xxxxx)

Spencer and Emily sat nervously in Cruz's office. They came in early to talk with Rossi about what he heard. Rossi didn't know how Leslie found out, all he knew from Cruz was she was furious.

Emily looked over at Spencer, who's leg bounced up and down nervously. She reached over and lightly placed her hand on his leg. He looked at her and attempted a comforting smile. It failed miserably. The door to Cruz's office opened, Emily took her hand off Spencer's leg and sat up straighter. Spencer tried to copy her confidence, but he knew he'd never pull it off like she would.

"Agent Prentiss, Dr. Reid," he greeted as he walked over to his desk.

They both responded politely, but neither said anything following this. Cruz leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. He let out a sigh.

"Well, I imagine you know how serious this is," he said frowning.

Emily and Spencer nodded their heads.

"You realize what this looks like? The Unit Chief getting pregnant with a subordinate was news enough, but add in a secret wedding and we have quite the spectacle," he explained.

"With all due respect sir, I don't understand how this is a spectacle. This wasn't some sleazy office affair. Emily and I have been friends for a long time and it unexpectedly grew into something more. Which can't be much of a surprise when we are here at work more than at home.

We have always been respectful and professional in the field. So much so, that no one was aware of our relationship until nearly a year later. We have continued to do our job with no issues or disruptions. While I understand the importance of having rules and boundaries, I don't see how it can be looked at as black and white," Spencer said with more anger than anyone expected.

"Dr. Reid," Cruz began.

"Spencer, let's drop the formalities," he said with bite.

"Spencer, look, I agree with everything you are saying. I haven't been here that long, but long enough to know your team works as a family. That being said, there is not much I can do when the higher ups want to make you two an example of what could happen if you date internally," Cruz said with sincerity in his eyes.

"This is unbelievable. We risk our lives to save others and this is what the bureau chooses to focus on?" Spencer said shaking his head. "So, what's the consequence they want to toss on us?"

Cruz seemed to be uncomfortable with what he was going to say next. He squirmed in his chair before leaning on the desk with his hands folded together. Emily looked at Spencer, who was glaring at Cruz.

"Until further notice, you are both being placed on suspension. There will be a hearing set that you'll both attend and following the hearing your status with the FBI will be decided."

Spencer's head dropped and Emily saw his hands clench into fists. For once, Emily was too stunned to know what to say. She felt tears slipping from her eyes. Pregnant Emily was not good at compartmentalizing.

"I'm really sorry. I tried to go to bat for you both. I really did," Cruz said sadly when he saw the tears from Emily. "And I won't stop standing by your side."

Emily gave him a small, but grateful smile. Spencer, however, didn't look up from his shoes. He only moved when he heard her get up from her chair and swing the door open. Spencer stood up to follow her.

"Spencer, we won't take this without a fight," Cruz assured him.

Spencer just turned and walked out the door. He could see Emily ahead of him. She was walking briskly to the elevator. Glancing into the bullpen, he saw Derek, Luke, and Rossi watching him miserably. By the time he reached the lobby, he only saw J.J. and Garcia, who had tears in her eyes.

"Spence," J.J. said softly.

He could see the pain in her eyes. She reached out to give him a comforting hug which he allowed, but barely participated in.

"Where's Emily?" he asked.

"She got into the elevator before we could get to her," Garcia sniffled.

Spencer pressed the down button and waited for the doors to open.

"Are you going to be alright?" J.J. asked.

Spencer pursed his lips together and shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm too angry to think right now," he said as the doors opened.

He stepped inside and avoided the looks from his friends as the doors closed. He reached the car and found Emily already in the front seat. She was buckled and looking out the window, while chewing on her fingernails.

Spencer climbed in and placed a hand on her leg. She didn't move from her position. She didn't acknowledge his presence.

"Em," he said gently.

"Please, just take me home," she said with an unsteady voice.

The 20-minute drive home was quiet. Emily gnawed on her fingers the entire way, while Spencer zoned in and out. He felt so guilty.

 _If I had quit when we got together this would've never happened. I should've known when she was made Unit Chief that this wasn't allowed. I knew this would get us into trouble. My selfishness not only ruined my career, the only place I've felt important, but it also destroyed Emily's career and now our children's future._

 _Maybe if I call Chief Ranch and tell her I would leave the job quietly, maybe she would let Emily stay. I could tell her she could tell everyone that I was fired for my insubordination and that Emily was spared because of her connections to London. No, that made no sense. He had to do something though. He couldn't sit back and watch his wife's passion get taken from her._

Before he knew it, they had arrived back home. Emily barely waited for the car to stop before she was unbuckled and climbing out of the car. She went straight through the garage and into the house. Spencer finished parking and followed behind her.

He slowly walked up the stairs towards their bedroom. He felt like a failure. Their first week of marriage and this is how it begins. Both of them suspended and staring down the barrel of unemployment. How would they find new jobs after being fired by the FBI? Surely they wouldn't offer them any good recommendations, would they?

When he reached the bedroom, he found Emily curled up in their bed. The blanket wrapped tightly around her. He could see the rise and fall of her body and the soft sounds of her crying. He climbed onto the bed and slid behind her, his arm pulling her close.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, as tears now welled up in his eyes. "I am so sorry."

With that Emily started sobbing. Spencer buried his face into her hair and allowed himself to soundlessly break down too. They both cried until they were exhausted and fell asleep.

(xxxxx)

Spencer woke up startled. He sat up and strained to listen. He had heard something that broke through his dreams, but he didn't know what. He noticed Emily wasn't in bed any longer.

"Em?" he called out.

Another rumble of thunder shook the house. That's what must've woken him. He wandered downstairs to see if Emily was in the kitchen. It was early afternoon, so she was probably starving after her nap.

He searched the house for her, but eventually found her sitting outside on the wooden swing they had added to the dock a few days before. The wind was blowing her long black hair. Her feet just barely touching the ground.

He walked over to the swing and sat down next to her. Spencer wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to hold her, but she seemed to be putting up a wall. The old Emily was trying to push through the pregnant and emotional Emily.

"I'm sorry," he finally whispered.

Out of his peripheral vision, he saw her look at him. He couldn't look at her. He was too ashamed. She was probably regretting the entire marriage. He had let her and the babies down.

"Spencer, look at me."

He slowly turned her direction, but still avoided eye contact. He felt her hand grab his chin as another rumble of thunder sounded in the distance.

"Look at me," she said again.

His eyes sheepishly looked up at her, but softened when he saw the gentleness of her stare.

"There is nothing you need to be sorry for," she began.

"But if I would've done something sooner," he started.

"And do what Spencer? No matter when they would've found out the consequences would be the same. We knew this time would come and like I told you before, you are more important to me than the job," she said.

He studied her carefully, trying to see through her words to the truth. She gave him a small smile and brushed his hair behind his ears before resting her hands on both cheeks.

"Yes, I am incredibly sad that it happened this quickly and I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a little scared, but even knowing this outcome I would choose to do everything the same way. I love you and these beautiful babies and I wouldn't change it for a second. You are my world Spencer and nothing will ever change that," she said as her thumbs caressed his cheeks.

He tried to hold back his smile, which made Emily chuckle.

"You were never good at hiding that smile," she said grinning at him.

He rolled his eyes, but his smile stayed.

"Just give me a kiss," she said leaning closer to him.

Spencer obeyed. He gently kissed her.

"You are amazing, you know that? I'm supposed to be the one comforting you," he said as he pressed his forehead to hers.

"You get dibs next time," she teased as lightning flashed overhead.

"Come on, let's go inside. I'll make you lunch," he said getting up and holding out his hand.

Emily took hold and stood up tightly holding his hand. The two of them walked back to the house, just as the rains came rolling in.


	36. Chapter 36

_Thanks for the reviews everyone! I'm iffy on this chapter. I like it and yet I don't. But I felt it needed to be done to move the story along. We are also nearing the end of Emily's pregnancy so those cute bundles of joy should be making an appearance soon! Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

The following morning, Spencer stood in the kitchen making breakfast, while Emily relaxed on the couch. Her feet were beginning to swell and with only 4 more weeks until the expected arrival of the babies, she was trying to do as little as possible. She flipped from channel to channel, not finding anything of interest to watch, when something caught her eye.

"Spencer!" she called as she sat up straighter.

Her eyes were glued to the tv as Spencer came into the room.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Look," she said pointing at the tv.

Spencer looked and saw she was watching ABC morning news. The headline read _**Protesters Surround J. Edgar Hoover Building.**_ The newscaster appeared on the screen again, standing in front of a crowd of people carrying signs.

"It's estimated nearly 100 protestors are out here this morning. According to sources, the phone lines have been jammed with angry calls regarding the recent suspension of two FBI employees," she said.

"Laura, I heard that the protestors and callers, many of them victims who were rescued by these agents, are appalled that these two FBI employees are facing possible job loss?" a man off camera said.

"Yes, I've spoken to at least a dozen protestors who want answers as to why a marriage could lead to such a harsh course of action. One woman pointed out that the one agent," the woman looked down at her notes. "Dr. Spencer Reid not only saved her life, but has grown a bond with her son and continues to check in on him."

The screen switched to a woman standing next to her son, who was staring off into space.

"Dr. Reid is a wonderful man. When I was taken, he watched over my son," she glanced at her boy. "Sammy witnessed our kidnapping and due to his autism and the intense traumatic experience, no one could get him to communicate. Dr. Reid and his team worked tirelessly to find me and my husband, all while trying to take care of my son.

When the case ended, Spencer continued to check in on Sammy. He sends gifts on his birthday and every year on the anniversary of my husband's death, he stops by to spend the day with Sammy. My son is not affectionate. He doesn't hug or tell you he loves you. He just can't communicate like that, but when Dr. Reid is around I see a change in Sammy. He pats Spencer's head, hand him toys, and even talk to him, things he doesn't typically do.

This is something above and beyond the call of duty. Those men and women risk their lives to protect us and to threaten to fire them because they fell in love is absolutely ridiculous. Their relationship status has nothing to do with their work as agents. To suggest otherwise, is unfounded and ignorant."

The reporter cut back to the woman outside the Hoover building.

"Tom, as you can see these people feel very strongly about the unfairness of this ruling," Laura stated. "Another source contacted me with information regarding both of the agents and their beyond stellar qualifications, one might say over-qualifications for their jobs. Dr. Spencer Reid has an IQ of 187, he graduated high school at the age of 12. He currently has 3 PhD's and 2 BA's, going to school at both CalTech and MIT.

He can read over 20,000 words per minute and has an eidetic memory, which makes him a valuable asset in court cases. His wife, Emily Prentiss, is daughter of US Ambassador, Elizabeth Prentiss. She graduated from Yale and speaks fluent Arabic, Spanish, Italian, French, Russian, and Greek. She is the former Chief of London Interpol Office and now is the Unit Chief of the BAU."

The man off camera gave a loud, impressed whistle.

"I can see why folks are angry. With credentials like that, it seems quite reckless of the FBI to let such talent go."

"Yes, many people have stated that this matter is so trivial it's almost embarrassing that it's even happening," Laura said. "I spoke with Ambassador Prentiss earlier and she stated that her daughter was not one to choose men over her career. To call it an affair is slander. Neither Agent Prentiss or Dr. Reid were seeing others during their relationship. They were not doing anything scandalous so making a big deal out of this is shameful."

"Well stated Laura. I was just handed a message here, it seems that we have a call from actress, Lila Archer, who says that she owes her life to Dr. Reid and the BAU," Tom stated. "Ms. Archer can you hear me?"

"Yes," a voice off camera was heard.

"Ms. Archer, can you tell us about your encounter with the BAU?" Tom asked.

"Back in 2006, I met Spencer and the members of his team after an assistant and friend of mine started killing anyone that she felt got in the way of my career. It was a very frightening time for me. Besides worrying for my life, I was wracked with the feeling of guilt at the loss of these innocent lives in my name.

Spencer and his team not only saved me from this mentally unstable woman, but they also helped me deal with the aftermath. They didn't just end their job after they saved me. They made sure that I had a safe place to go, that I had someone to talk to regarding the traumatic experience, and Spencer kept in touch with me, making sure that I was healing properly.

This is more than a job for them. It's more than just saving someone physically. They genuinely care about the survivors as if we are their family or friends. They spend most of their days away from home. Losing sleep, working long hours, eating fast food or missing meals altogether and they do it all without complaint. They work when they are sick or when they have their own problems to deal with.

When we get to move on with our lives, they don't. They have to keep going and keep saving lives. They become targets by the monsters they catch. Agent Aaron Hotchner's wife was murdered, his son stalked. Agent Jennifer Jareau's son was held hostage. Former Agent Jason Gideon's girlfriend was murdered. All of these instances were because they tried to help someone. Their lives are destroyed while we repair ours.

They have little joy in their lives. They witness horrendous and nauseating crimes without complaint or hesitation. Two agents, who are together nearly every day, 365 days a year, fall in love and they are told because of this they are no longer entitled to work their jobs anymore? It blows my mind that someone even entertained this as justifiable.

There is absolutely no reason that Spencer and Agent Prentiss should be punished for trying to find a piece of happiness on this Earth. I can assure you that I will be involved in making sure this doesn't go forward without a fight. I have plenty of friends, family, and co-workers that are willing to step up for this cause."

"We couldn't agree with you more. It really seems almost laughable when you sit back and look at the entire picture. That being said, someone just called the station and told us that you had a relationship with Dr. Reid. Is this true?"

Lila began laughing. "I'm sure this is the same moron that thought firing them was a good idea. Let me set the record straight on that rumor. When Spencer was at my house trying to protect me, I was the one who took advantage of him. He tried multiple times to refuse my advances and I continued to push him.

Following the case, he insisted that we be nothing more than friends because he was so worried that I was suffering from transference. Nothing would convince him otherwise, because he is an honorable man. He doesn't break rules or protocol," she explained.

"Just playing devil's advocate here," Tom said. "One could say, but if he doesn't break rules or protocol he wouldn't have started a relationship with Agent Prentiss to begin with."

"You could say that, but again, what harm does it do? When has love ever done anything that is harmful? It is unrealistic and cruel to place a rule about who you can and can't fall in love with. Should there be rules about conduct? Absolutely. Setting boundaries such as no affection while on the job is reasonable. But to just outright ban it is ridiculous."

"Thank you for your time Ms. Archer," the reporter stated.

With that, Spencer looked at Emily. His mind reeling from what he was witnessing. He had always felt insignificant in this world and yet, here were all these people coming to his and Emily's aid. Emily looked as stunned.

(xxxxx)

The following afternoon, Emily and Spencer had been called by Cruz to come to the office. When they walked into the bullpen they were greeted with hugs from their friends.

"Does anyone know how the press found out about this?" Emily said, still surprised.

"Oops," J.J. said with a little shrug.

Spencer grinned at her with gratefulness, while Emily pulled her in for another hug.

"I can't believe all the response just from the news," Emily said as she released J.J.

"Oh, well, we may have helped a bit with that," Penelope said grinning. "I compiled a list of phone numbers of people I believed would be supporters. Derek, Newbie, and I made some calls."

"You guys are amazing," Emily said as tears welled up in her eyes.

"We couldn't let our Unit Chief and boy wonder down. What would we do without you two?" Penelope said as she pulled Spencer into an awkward side hug.

He laughed after she released him.

"I have a feeling that Chief Ranch is going to be fit to be tied," Emily said.

"Well, we are about to find out," Spencer said staring at the entrance to the bullpen.

Cruz had just walked in and was beckoning them to come with a flick of his head.

(xxxxx)

The team sat nervously waiting for the return of Spencer and Emily. They had been gone for a little over an hour. While they were originally optimistic of the outcome, the longer they waited the more nervous they felt. Maybe fighting back wasn't a good idea. Maybe by doing this they put a bigger rift between the team and the chief officers.

Finally, the glass door swung open and the team instantly stood up. They tried their best to read Spencer and Emily's facial expression, but they were both stone-faced.

"So, what happened? Are you fired? Are you still suspended? Were they mad?" Penelope said rapidly as they approached.

"Chief Ranch was beyond angry. She said that we not only willingly broke the fraternization rule, but we also betrayed the FBI by taking our story to the press. She said our behavior was appalling, childish, and an embarrassment to the bureau," Emily said.

J.J. covered her gapping mouth, Penelope gasped, Derek shook his head in anger, while Rossi and Luke just stood listening in shock.

"So … you're fired?" Penelope squeaked.

"No," Emily grinned.

"What?" J.J. said with big eyes.

"The rest of the members of the hearing thought that our behavior was not unexpected due to the nature of our job. They agreed that we have continued to show our professionalism throughout this entire 'affair' and have proven to be valuable assets to the bureau.

They felt that, while the rule is created for good reasons, that it does not need to be a defining factor in whether an agent is effective at their job or not. They also had no proof of who contacted the media and therefore, could not place the blame for that on us.

One man was even grateful for the positive publicity that came from this. He said, while it looked bad that they were trying to discharge two amazing members of the FBI for something trivial, that the appreciation expressed by victims and their families showed exactly what it means to be an agent," Spencer explained.

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! So, we are good? You are coming back to work?" Penelope said as she put a hand to her heart.

"Yes, we are coming back to work," Emily said beaming.

The group let out a holler as they began hugging one another happily. As they went around congratulating each other, Spencer pulled Emily into a hug. He placed a chaste kiss to her lips and held her as best as he could. Neither had to say anything to one another. They were both relieved and exhausted.

"This calls for a celebration!' Derek called out.

As they stood next to one another watching their friend's spirits rise, they both felt overcome with emotion. Yesterday, it seemed as though their world was coming to an end and now, it felt as if they were floating on cloud 9. And it was all thanks to these amazing people standing in front of them.


	37. Chapter 37

_Sorry for the delay. The hurricane is headed our way so I had to help prepare for it. Kinda freaking out – not gonna lie. Anyway, I hope you like this section, I went a little dramatic. All of this was researched though through . Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

It had been a little over a week since Emily and Spencer's suspension had been lifted. They both decided after much discussion they would continue to work until the arrival of the babies. After that they would try and decide how they wanted to proceed.

Emily was 34 weeks when she woke up with a throbbing headache. She tried to sit up in bed, but felt too nauseous so she laid back down. The door to the bathroom swung open, causing her to flinch and throw the covers over her face.

"You ok?" Spencer asked somewhere outside the blanket.

"No," Emily growled.

She felt the bed sink in a little, but she stayed under the safety of her blanket.

"You can come out. I turned off the light," Spencer said.

Emily slowly pulled the cover away as she squinted into the darkened room. Spencer was watching her with concern.

"What's wrong? Headache?" he asked with a furrowed brow.

"Yes, and it's making me nauseous," she frowned.

"Can I get you anything? Ginger ale? An ice pack?" he offered.

"No, but thank you. I'm just going to try and get some rest. I'll head over to the office in a little bit," she said as she massaged her temples.

"You sure?" Spencer said hesitantly.

"I'm sure babe," she said, giving him a small smile.

He nodded, but his eyes still read leery. He bent over and gave her a kiss before grabbing his items and leaving for work.

(xxxxx)

Emily woke up to intense pain in her abdomen. She let out a loud groan as she curled into a ball. She couldn't be going into labor this early, could she? Maybe this was one of those Braxten Hicks things that Spencer and J.J. told her about.

She decided to try using the bathroom. Besides not peeing all night, maybe the tacos from the night before were haunting her. She started walking towards the restroom when her vision started to blur. She slowly let herself go to the floor as the room spun around her.

She started crawling toward the bedside table. Her hands shaking as her vision slowly came back to her. She nearly threw up when she saw the puddle of blood beneath her. Her vision started growing narrow again.

She pressed a button on her phone and pressed send. She couldn't see the number she pushed, but she prayed whoever it was would answer.

(xxxxx)

Spencer sat at his desk filling out paperwork, while Derek sat nearby telling Luke about this farfetched crime movie he watched the night before. Every once in a while, Spencer would chime in with a fact that proved the movie wrong, making Derek shout "I know!" in agreement.

"So, then the guy starts climbing the wall …" Derek said before a shout cut him off.

Derek, Luke, and Spencer looked up to see Penelope running toward them. Her eyes were wide with panic and she looked to be on the verge of tears.

"Garcia, what's …" Derek started but was cut off again.

"It's Emily," she said waving the phone.

Spencer jumped to his feet nearly knocking his chair over.

"She called and she was crying and she asked for help before she stopped talking. I can't get her to answer me," she said as the tears finally made their appearance.

Spencer grabbed Penelope's phone.

"Emily? Emily?" he said frantically.

Without another word, Spencer handed the phone back to Penelope and started running toward the elevator.

"Garcia, keep her on the line. Go get Rossi and J.J. and meet us there," Derek said as he and Luke ran after Spencer.

(xxxxx)

The phone rang only twice before a faint voice could be heard.

"How is my favorite mom to be?"

"Garcia …" she groaned.

"Emily? Emily, what's wrong?" Penelope said sitting up straighter in her chair.

"Help me," Emily whispered in response.

The room started spinning faster. The edges of her sight were turning black and the sound of pulsing echoed through her ears. She tried to ask for help again when the darkness surrounded her.

(xxxxx)

Before Derek could even stop his car, Spencer had thrown open the door and jumped out. He took off running to the front door, where he shoved the key in, pushed the door, and left it wide open. He took the stairs two at a time. It felt like he was moving in slow motion. No matter how fast he ran, he felt like he would never reach Emily.

He ran into the bedroom and saw Emily lying in a heap of blood near their bed. With shaking hands, he dropped to his knees and placed his hand on her neck. She had a pulse, though incredibly weak.

"Emily, Emily please wake up," he said brushing the hair out of her eyes.

The light to the bedroom switched on, but Spencer's eyes remained glued to Emily's. Her face was pale and the amount of blood around her was alarming. It trailed from the bed, toward the bathroom, and back into a large puddle that she lay in.

"Yes ma'am, she's unconscious," Luke said into his phone.

Derek appeared across from Spencer. He reached out and placed fingers to Emily's neck and began counting. He relayed the pulse information to Luke, who told the 911 operator. Spencer couldn't move. He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. He just sat watching his wife and two children dying in front of him. Why again? Why did this always have to happen to him? What had he done to deserve such a tortured life?

"They are 5 minutes away," Luke said.

"Go downstairs and keep Garcia out. She does not need to see this," Derek said.

Luke nodded and left the room. Spencer still held Emily's hand tight in his own. Tears streaming down his face as he stared blankly at her.

"Reid? Reid?"

Spencer heard him, but couldn't respond. If she died … there was no point in living anymore. He wouldn't live without her. Without his children.

"Reid, look at me!"

Spencer snapped out of his fog and slowly looked up at Derek.

"I know you are scared right now, but you need to stay strong. Emily and the babies need you. You are going to ride with her to the hospital. In order to do that, you need to be aware of your surroundings. You need to snap out of it," Derek said directly.

Spencer nodded his understanding just as the paramedics ran into the room.

(xxxxx)

The team paced the waiting room. It felt like they had been here too many times before. J.J. sat with her head resting on Will's. Rossi sat staring at his cup of coffee, while Derek sat next to him playing with his watch. Garcia sat next to Luke who held her hand and tried to console her with pictures of cats he pulled up on his phone.

It seemed like hours before Spencer came out. He looked pale and haunted. Everyone's attention turned immediately to him.

"She's going in for an emergency C-section. She didn't know she was suffering from preeclampsia which caused placenta previa," he said as his lip trembled.

"What does that mean?" Penelope said jumping up.

"It means that Emily has high blood pressure that caused her to receive lower blood flow. This in turn caused placenta previa which means the placenta is blocking her cervix, trapping the babies inside and causing massive blood loss," J.J. said quavering.

Spencer nodded as tears poured from his eyes. Without anything else, he turned and walked off back towards the room where he would prep to go in with Emily.

Penelope's sobs were audible. She buried her head in Luke's shoulder as he held her tightly.

"So, what are we expecting here?" Derek asked angrily.

"It's different with everyone, but given that the babies are 6 weeks early they will be placed in NICU," J.J. began.

"And Emily?" Luke asked as he still held Penelope.

"She'll need blood transfusions. Placenta previa in itself is dangerous, but based off the fact that Spence said she lost a massive amount of blood, leads me to believe she also suffered placenta accrete. That basically means the placenta is implanted too deeply and makes it difficult to separate during delivery."

"Is Emily going to die?" Penelope asked as her head popped up from Luke's shoulder.

J.J. frowned and looked down at the floor. The fear in her eyes said a lot.

"The transfusions should help her. They'll also give her Pitocin to give her contractions. This will help to stop the bleeding," J.J. explained.

"Emily is a tough woman. She will survive this," Will piped in.

J.J. gave him a sad smile and leaned into him as he kissed the top of her head. All they could do now was pray and wait.

(xxxxx)

Time moved by slowly. The girls seemed to have run out of tears and everyone had grown silent. No one moved or did anything. They all just stared in a zombie like silence. Luke was the first to see Spencer walking towards them. He made a noise that signaled the others. Again, their attention turned to him.

He wiped the tears from his eyes as he tried to speak. He was struggling as his breathing grew rapidly.

"Spence," J.J. said as tears streamed from her eyes.

"The … uh … babies are ok. The nurses took them to NICU. Emily is in ICU," he said as he shook. "She's stable, but she'll need another transfusion. They are also watching her … um … blood pressure. It's still dangerously high."

With that the dam broke. Spencer erupted into sobs. Rossi, being the closest to him, reached out and pulled Spencer into his arms. He held the boy he considered a son tight in his arms as he cried into his shoulder.

There wasn't a dry eye in the room as they all took in the news. While it seemed that somewhat optimistic they certainly weren't out of the woods yet. The next few days would be in God's hands. Something none of them felt comfortable doing.


	38. Chapter 38

_Thank you for well wishes! My home was not damaged – just debris. But it was good we left as the people who stayed said it was terrifying. Bright note – I found time to do some writing. I hope you like this and like the idea I had for the babies names. Enjoy! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

Spencer sat next to a rectangular box with a smile on his face. Through the glass a small baby, covered in cords and tape, held tightly to his finger. The baby was barely larger than Spencer's hand. His little chest rose up and down.

"Now that is one handsome little dude."

Spencer turned around to see Derek standing behind him. No one had seen the babies yet as the trauma of the day's events left everyone shell shocked. After much pacing, Derek finally snuck off to find Spencer and see the twins.

"He's strong too," Spencer said softly as he turned his attention back to his son.

Derek glanced at the box on the other side of the boy.

"This must be the little princess," he said more than asked.

"Yea, she's having more difficulty breathing than little man," Spencer said with catch in his throat.

Derek peered into the incubator. He watched as her chest rose more rapidly than her brother's. She was also tinier. If he guessed she was probably only 3-4 pounds. She was smaller than the cabbage patch dolls his sisters used to play with.

"How's Emily?" Derek asked as he looked away from the little girl.

"She's sleeping. They believe they have given her enough transfusions at this point. She's still in ICU, but her health has been reclassified as stable. The doctor believes if not tomorrow, the next day she should be able to relocate to a regular room," Spencer replied as he stroked his son's head gently with his finger.

"That's great news. Will she be able to see the babies?"

"Once she's in the regular room she should be able to make trips down here to see them."

Derek nodded. There was an awkward silence as he tried to think of what to say to Spencer. This kid seemed to have the worst luck in history. For such a sweet kid, he couldn't catch a break.

"You holdin' up alright?" Derek finally asked.

Spencer shrugged, but Derek could see him fighting back the tears.

"I know this doesn't mean much, but I want you to know how incredibly strong you are," he began.

Spencer's eyes shot up to Derek in surprise.

"Seriously kid. You have dealt with a ton of shit and yet you keep pushing forward. I admire that more than you'll ever know. There have been so many times that I've wanted to give up and just quit. Just disappear from it all," he said looking down at his feet.

"But then I see you … I see all the courage and strength that you have. I see you continue to bounce back when life throws lemons at you and it gives me the will to push through. You are one hell of a human being Reid and I envy your perseverance."

Spencer was stunned. He had always looked up to Derek. Saw him as the cooler, stronger older brother and yet here he was listening to Derek praise him. He didn't know what to say.

"Don't say anything," Derek said, as if he heard Spencer's thoughts. "I just wanted you to know that and also know that I'm always here for you. I may not be the best at sharing my emotions, but you are my little brother and I would do anything to protect you and your family."

With that, Spencer stood up and wrapped his arms around Derek. He hadn't even realized that he'd started crying again. When he pulled back, he laughed to see that Derek, too, was crying. They wiped away the tears and smiled at one another, before both focusing on the babies again.

(xxxxx)

Emily's eyes fluttered open. The room was fuzzy and she heard an annoying beeping sound. She tried to sit up, but found that to be difficult and somewhat painful. She wasn't sure what happened. She heard someone talking to her, but the words were muffled.

The room was slowly coming into focus and she started regaining her senses. She tilted her head to the left and saw a machine with lines and numbers. She turned her head to the right and saw Spencer leaning over her bed. She felt his hand gently touching her hair.

"Where am I?" she asked in an almost inaudible mutter.

"You are in the hospital. You had to have an emergency C-Section," Spencer told her calmly.

She let his words sink in and her eyes grew larger as it all came back to her. She had been at home, felt a lot of pain in her abdomen, and she remembered lots of blood.

"The babies! The babies?" she said anxiously.

"They are alright. They are safe in the NICU. The doctor said in a few days you should be well enough to see them," Spencer said with a smile.

They're ok?" she said as a tear slid from her eye.

"They are ok and they are beautiful. They can't wait to see their mama," he said squeezing her hand lovingly.

Emily looked at Spencer. The circles under his eyes were practically black and blue. The whites of his eyes cracked with red. His skin pale and his hair disheveled. She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek.

"You haven't slept," she said softly.

Spencer didn't reply. He just smiled before kissing the palm of her hand.

"Get some rest," she said gently, but sternly.

Spencer chuckled and grabbed hold of her hand again.

"You get some rest too. Those babies want to see their mom," he replied.

Emily nodded before a yawn took over. She felt Spencer kiss her hand before she closed her eyes and quickly fell back to sleep.

(xxxxx)

Three days had flown by. Spencer bounced between the NICU and visiting Emily. Usually when she was asleep, he'd spend time with the kids. When she was awake, he'd switch with whoever was visiting and go back to her room while they stayed with the kids.

Finally, the doctor had given Emily the ok to take a trip down to the NICU to see the babies. She was wheeled into the room and greeted by J.J. who had taken up baby duty. She had a big smile on her face as Emily got closer.

"Perfect timing, they both seem to be waking up," J.J. stated.

Spencer stopped the wheelchair in front of the incubators. Before he could protest, Emily stood up and peered into both. Her eyes welled up with tears.

"Hello, my beautiful babies," she said as her smile stretched across her face.

Emily turned to the little girl and slid her hand into the incubator opening. She gently rubbed the little girls tiny hand which opened and closed around her finger.

"Hi beautiful girl, it's mommy," she said softly.

Suddenly, the little girl's eyes began opening. She seemed to be aware of Emily's presence. Spencer swore to this day that upon hearing Emily's voice, their daughter smiled. After a few moments, she moved over to her son's incubator and began the process of introducing herself to him. J.J. and Spencer watched side by side, with their arms around each other.

"Have you chosen their names yet?" J.J. asked.

"Not yet. Emily wanted to see them first. We will decide tonight what their names will be," Spencer replied.

"In that case, I'm going to hit the road and gather up the gang. We will want to be there for the announcement," J.J. said excitedly.

She gave both Emily and Spencer a kiss on the cheek, said her goodbyes to the babies, and eagerly left the room. Spencer walked over to Emily and stood behind her, cuddling her in his arms. His chin rested on her shoulder as they watched their son wiggle and kick his tiny legs.

"Can you believe it? Those amazing creatures are our children," Spencer said in awe.

"I still can't wrap my head around you and I, let alone being a mom," Emily said with a smile in her voice.

Spencer kissed the side of her head and gave her a gentle squeeze.

"So, what do you think we should call them?"

(xxxxx)

Spencer and Emily decided they wanted to keep the babies names a secret until they were released from the hospital. It took nearly two months, but they were finally deemed well enough to come home. On a cold Saturday night, just before Christmas the team came to Spencer and Emily's house for dinner.

Without their knowledge, Penelope organized a baby shower since they never got the chance to have one for Emily. The living room was filled with boxes and bags in different blues and pinks. Penelope sat holding girl Reid, while she and Luke cooed over her. J.J held boy Reid, while Henry talked to him.

Rossi stood in the kitchen talking to Derek and Spencer, while Emily played a game of peek-a-boo with Michael, who was being held by Will.

"Uncle Spencer, can you please tell us the babies names now? I don't know what to call my cousin other than hey you," Henry said popping up over the couch.

The group laughed, making Henry beam. Spencer nodded at Emily and they walked to stand in front of the group.

"I wanted to stick to traditional names like Sophia or Matthew, while Spencer wanted to go more literary with names like Arthur or Louise," Emily began.

"After much debating, we both decided to find a name that described their personalities," Spencer said. "I chose our daughter's name and Emily chose our son's name, but we both agreed on them."

"So, who is this beauty?" Penelope asked in a baby voice.

"That little lady is Matilda, which means strong. She has had quite the battle and her strength amazes us every day," Spencer said.

The girls awed.

"It's so nice to meet you Matilda. I'm your Aunt Penelope and I'm going to spoil you rotten."

"Who is this?" Henry asked excitedly.

"That little guy was hiding behind Matilda and we didn't even know he was there at first. Besides being a surprise, he is a blessing. Therefore, his name is Bennett," Emily said.

"Hi Benny, I'm your cousin Henry. I'm going to teach you how to play baseball, do magic tricks, and fight crimes like Spiderman," Henry said as Bennett let out a coo.

"Now that we've been introduced, let's begin opening up these presents!" Penelope said as she handed Matilda off to Rossi.


	39. Chapter 39

_Well, not sure how it turned into this, but I hope it sounds believable. Let me know what you think – if it sounds stupid I'll redo the chapter. Thanks for the help! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

3 months later …

Spencer woke up to the sound of crying. He rolled out of bed and stared bleary-eyed at the clock. It was just a bit after 6am. Emily was due to start work again next week and they still hadn't decided about what they were going to do.

Part of Spencer wanted to quit his job at the BAU and stay home with the twins, while another part of him hoped Emily would make the offer to stay at home. He knew the odds of the latter were slim. He yawned and rubbed his eyes as he stood up. He made his way to the bathroom for his morning ritual.

After cleaning up, he headed downstairs to see Emily bottle feeding Bennett. On the floor, cooing at herself in the mirror that dangled over her head, laid Matilda. Spencer leaned over the couch and placed a gentle kiss to Emily's cheek.

"Good morning," he said softly.

Bennett's eyes shot toward the voice and a big smile stretched across his face. Spencer and Emily, both, let out a small laugh.

"Good morning to you, Benny-boo," he said in a childlike voice.

Bennett smiled again, before continuing his breakfast. Spencer walked around the couch and got down on the floor with Matilda. She tilted her head to see who was next to her and a grin stretched across her face as well.

"Hello daddy's little princess," he said as he kissed the hand she flung at him.

Her little body wiggled with excitement. Her feet flailing in the air and her hands pumping up and down as if she were flying.

"Any thoughts about what you are going to do?" he suddenly asked Emily as he made faces at a giggling Matilda.

"About?" Emily asked.

"Work?"

Emily sighed, making Spencer stop playing and sit up to face her.

"No. I don't know Spence. I love my kids so much, I just … I don't know …" she trailed off.

"Emily, you don't need to feel guilty for loving your job as well," Spencer said, understanding her hesitation. "I feel the same way."

"I know, but I'm the mom. I'm supposed to want to be the stay at home mom," she said emotionally.

"That's not true at all. Em, this isn't the 1950's. You are not expected to suddenly morph into June Cleaver," he said getting up to take a fussing Bennett from her.

Emily curled up into herself as she nibbled on her fingernails. Spencer placed Bennett over his shoulder and began patting his back.

"Look, this is a huge decision. This is not something we have to decide now. If you want to try going back to work and see how it feels, we can do that. I'm sure there is someone out there we can hire to watch the kids," he said.

"But that terrifies me. We see the crazy people that are out there and we are going to just hand our babies over to a stranger?" she said.

Bennett let out a loud burp.

"Nice one," Spencer whispered before looking back to Emily. "I know it's scary, but it's not like we don't have resources to check into these people. I mean, we have Garcia for crying out loud. If they stole even a crumb off of someone's plate, she'll know about it," he said with a gentle smile.

Emily couldn't help but smile as well.

"That's true."

"You still have a week. Let me talk with Garcia today and we'll discuss this more tonight when I get home," he said laying Bennett next to Matilda.

"Ok," she replied softly.

Spencer turned to face her. He held out his hand and helped her to her feet. He placed one hand on her waist and the other brushed through her hair.

"We'll figure it out. Don't worry," he said staring into her eyes.

"Ok," she said again, but this time with more confidence and a small smile.

"I love you," he said before giving her a kiss.

What was supposed to be a quick, reassuring kiss turned into a deeper, needier kiss. As their lips parted, Emily stayed close, clutching Spencer's dress shirt.

"You know, it's been a while since we've had alone time," she said seductively.

"Because we are never alone anymore and always tired," he teased.

"Maybe Auntie Penny would want to watch them for a while tonight," Emily said as she slid her hands up and down Spencer's chest.

She could see he was getting aroused as he looked down longingly at her.

"I could certainly ask and if she can't, I have an entire list of others I'll try," he grinned.

Emily reached around and squeezed his ass.

"Better get going then. Quicker you leave, the quicker you can return," she said as she sat back down on the couch.

"On that note, have a good day. I love you and I love you guys," he said as his attention turned to the kids. "Be good for your mom."

With that he blew Emily a kiss, grabbed his bag by the door, threw it over his shoulder, and left.

(xxxxx)

Emily sat on the couch with her feet propped up on the table. The kids were both napping and she had been hoping to get some cleaning done, but found herself too exhausted. Her head was tilted back with her eyes closed. She was beginning to doze off when her cell rang.

Without even looking to see who was calling, she flipped open her phone and placed it to her ear.

"Yea," she said drowsily.

"Em," Penelope's voice wavered.

Emily sat straight up, recognizing the off tone in Penelope's greeting.

"What's wrong?"

"He's ok," Penelope began.

"What happened? Garcia, what's going on?" Emily said as her heart raced.

"Reid and J.J. are being held hostage at a bank in downtown DC," she replied. "They aren't hurt, but there are three unsubs and they've been taking out hostages every 30 minutes."

"I'm on my way, send me the address," Emily said as she ran to the bedroom to get dressed.

"What about the babies?" Garcia said.

 _Shit!_ She hadn't even thought about that. She had to protect Spencer. What was she going to do? She didn't know any neighbors nearby and she had no family or friends that were close, except her BAU team.

"What do I do?" Emily said, suddenly panicking.

"I have an idea. Just wait there, I'm sending backup!"

Emily hung up the phone and continued getting ready.

(xxxxx)

Much to her frustration, Emily pulled up to the bank 45 minutes later. Penelope had gotten in touch with Kate Callahan, who was still living in town. Being a stay at home mom, she was able to rush over to help.

Emily jumped from her car, showed her credentials to an officer blocking the road, and ran towards the building. She saw Rossi, Will, Derek, and Luke standing near a police vehicle talking. She kept up her pace towards them.

"Emily," Rossi said as he saw her running toward them.

"What's going on? What do we know?" she asked as she tried to stay professional.

"Not a lot at the moment. All three of the gunmen are masked. We know there have been three hostages shot, J.J. and Reid are uninjured but in no position to help, at this time. There are 10 cameras with multiple angles," Rossi explained.

Rossi had taken over as the Unit Chief while Emily was on medical leave. This turned out to be a blessing because try as she might, Emily couldn't seem to focus on anything except saving Spencer.

"Have they communicated with us?" she asked.

"Yes, but they've yet to give us a clue to what they want from us," Rossi said.

Emily looked at Will, who's eyes reflected the same fear. Both of their loved ones were inside and they were desperate for a solution.

(xxxxx)

Spencer and J.J. sat with their backs against the teller counter. Only feet away, sitting with his legs dangling from a table, was one of the unsubs. He was staring them down with a smirk on his face and a high-powered weapon in his hands.

"You married?" he suddenly asked.

J.J. looked up at him, but didn't respond. The man slid off the counter and walked toward her. She tensed, but kept her eyes glued to his. He reached down to push a strand of hair from her face, when Spencer slapped the man's hand away.

"Don't touch her," he growled.

The unsub swung the butt of his gun and struck Spencer directly next to his eye.

"Hey, what are you doing? Knock it off!" the head unsub shouted.

"He hit me," the minion replied as he lifted his gun to strike Spencer again.

"I said knock it off. You can mess with him later. Right now, he's our leverage so let him be," the leader stated.

The minion nodded, but when the leader turned his back, he gave Spencer a swift kick in the gut before walking back to his table seat. Spencer doubled over in pain as he gasped for air.

(xxxxx)

Emily was pacing out front of the bank. Her mind racing with images of Spencer being shot, when Rossi's phone ringing interrupted her thoughts.

"Tell me something good, Penelope," Rossi said as he put the phone out for everyone to hear.

"Sir, I think I have something helpful. So, the 911 call came in at 11:34am, but if you watch the video the robbers didn't arrive until 11:37am. I think someone wanted them to get caught. Oh and sir, the caller was a woman," she said.

"So either one of the unsubs is betraying the other two or there is a fourth unsub who is betraying the three of them," Luke said.

"Could you trace the phone?" Rossi asked.

"Burner phone, so no luck," she replied.

"Thanks," Rossi said before hanging up. "So, someone in there doesn't know they were set up. We need to figure out who that is."

"How do we do that?" Derek asked.

"We rewatch those videos. Something in there will give us a clue," Rossi stated.

(xxxxx)

Spencer watched one of the unsubs leave the room again for the third time. It seemed incredibly suspicious as there were no vaults or anything back there. Just bathrooms. They couldn't possibly be using them, could they?

"Why does your friend keep leaving?" he dared to say out loud.

The unsub minion looked to where the one left the room and shrugged.

"I dunno. Mind your own fucking business," the man said.

"There's nothing back there, but bathrooms," Spencer continued.

"So, what? Maybe he has the shits," the man said angrily.

"Maybe you should go check it out," Spencer said.

"And leave you unattended? Nice try fed."

"If I were you I'd watch my back, because your partner is up to something and you clearly have no idea what," Spencer said softly.

The man looked at him and back to where his partner disappeared. He then looked over to the other unsub standing near the front door.

"Yo, G, what is up with Grizz? He got some stomach issue or something?" he hollered across the room.

"Hell if I know," the quietest man replied before looking back out the window.

It looked like the minion was about to get up from his perch to go check when the man, known as Grizz, came walking out of the back area again.

"What are you doing?" Minion called to him.

Grizz didn't respond.

"Hey, I said what are you doing? Why you keep going back there?" he shouted.

Grizz turned slowly to face him. His eyes seemed to be burn red.

"Do your fucking job and I will do mine," the man growled.

Minion's face scrunched in anger. He turned his attention back to Spencer, who gave him an 'I told you so' look, which only angered the man more.

(xxxxx)

"This guy keeps disappearing, but it's the bathrooms so there are no cameras," Penelope said through the speaker.

"There are no exits in that direction though, so what is the purpose of continually going in there?" Luke asked in frustration.

"Garcia, try going back through the tapes from closing last night, to opening this day. See if anyone goes in that direction that seems suspicious," Emily suggested.

"I'm on it."

With that the phone hung up. Emily watched the people going about their day as usual. She watched the unsubs enter, she watched them take over the bank, shoot hostages, and take Spencer and J.J. hostage. Somewhere there had to be something that would give them the answer. If Spencer were here with them, he would've found it. Emily sighed and tried again to focus.

(xxxxx)

The minion on the table seemed fidgety now. He continued to glance from the leader to Spencer and to the bathroom. The leader was sitting at a desk with his feet propped up as if he didn't have a care in the world. The bank was quiet with only a few sniffles here and there from the hostages.

"I can help you," Spencer said breaking the unsubs thoughts.

"What?" he said glaring at him.

"I can help you stop him from taking you down," Spencer said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Mark my words, you are nothing more than a means to an end. You will not leave here alive. He will kill you and anyone else who is not part of his ultimate endgame," Spencer explained.

"You are full of shit," the man said, though his tone said otherwise.

"I have seen this a thousand times. A team of criminals always ends the same way. One person fucks over the others because of greed and power. That man right there is going to fuck you over. He considers himself the leader and he will eliminate you to have everything to himself," Spencer said loud enough for only J.J. and minion to hear.

"You have no idea what you are talking about," the man said.

"Tell him you are going to the bathroom. I guarantee he will tell you no. He will use every tactic to keep you away from there. He'll start with us," he said pointing to himself and J.J. "He'll tell you that you are on guard duty. That you can't leave us unattended. Then he'll make up some bullshit reason why he can't be the one to watch us while you are gone. Watch and see," Spencer said.

The man seemed to be thinking it over. He looked at the leader and then back at Spencer, then back at the leader.

"Gruff, I gotta take a piss," he said sliding off the table.

"Sit your ass back down, Turk," the leader said not looking up from the desk.

"I said I gotta piss," the man named Turk said as he started to walk away.

"And who is going to watch the feds? You leave they could make a move to get out of here," the leader said.

Turk looked over to Spencer who gave a slight nod.

"So, get up off your ass and watch them for a second," Turk replied.

"I can't do that. I have to sit by the phone and wait for the ransom call. You know this."

"So, move them over to sit where you are. It's not that big a fucking deal," Turk said as his blood boiled.

"I said no! If you don't go back to your post where you belong I will shoot your fucking brains out. Do you understand?" the leader yelled now turning to face Turk.

They stared each other down a moment, before Turk nodded and went back to his post. He didn't look at Spencer this time. He stared down at the floor. His face twisted in anger.

(xxxxx)

Nothing stood out in the feed they were watching, so they went back to watching everything live. It was nearing the last ten minutes before another hostage would be shot. Emily felt horrible for praying that it wasn't Spencer.

"Look! Look do you see that!" Luke said tapping on the screen.

"What?" Emily said.

The team looked to where Luke pointed. Spencer's hand was at his side, but it was moving in distinct movements. He was telling them something. He was spelling letters in American Sign Language.

(xxxxx)

"Let me help you. If you help me, I promise that I will have them go easy on you. You will not only leave here alive, but you will face little jail time," Spencer said softly.

The minion still wasn't looking at him. Spencer was praying silently that this would work and not backfire on him.

"His name is Terry Porter and the man at the window is my brother Sam Turish. Sam and I been robbing banks for years, never been caught. Terry comes along and convinces us to start hitting bigger target banks. Said not only do we get more money, we get notoriety. This would spread underground and get us more gigs that'll make us rich beyond our wildest dreams," he explained.

"Does Terry have a partner?" J.J. asked.

"Just me and Sam."

J.J. looked at Spencer who was looking back at her. They both seemed to read each other's minds.

"What?" Turk asked.

"There is more to this. Your friend Terry definitely has a partner and this is bigger than robbing banks," Spencer stated.

Turk looked at him quizzically and then glanced over his shoulder at Terry who was playing with a phone.

(xxxxx)

Emily and Luke had deciphered Spencer's message. It was now known that Terry Porter, Sam Turish, and John Turish were their unsubs. They were still trying to figure out who Terry's silent partner was, when Penelope called in again.

"Sir, I have scoured the bowels of the internet and I have found a disturbing revelation. Terry Porter is actually Terrance Stanton a former Marine, who was dishonorably discharged from a tour in Iraq after he shot three fellow Marines. He claimed he was startled and thought they were enemies, but a witness stated that what they saw was intentional.

When he returned to the US, he disappeared, but based off the information I'm digging up it seems that he took on a new persona and started attending radical anti-american meetings."

"We need to get everyone out of here. This is more than just a hostage situation. This is a distraction. We are about to witness an act of terrorism from a psychopath on a rampage against America," Rossi said.


	40. Chapter 40

_Sorry for the delay. I had a very hard time trying to not make this story too far-fetched. It may still be a bit but I did the best I could. Hopefully you'll enjoy it. I'm going to start working on the second part right now, may post tonight or tomorrow! Thanks for the support! xoxo_

 _(xxxxx)_

The alarm on Terry's phone beeped, causing everyone to look toward him in fear. That sound meant another 30 minutes was up and it was time for another victim. Terry stood up and scanned the hostages. His eyes landed on a little girl holding a stuffed teddy bear.

He walked over and snatched her out of her mother's grasp. The mother screamed and lunged for her daughter, but was immediately shot in the leg. She dropped to the ground in tears as the little girl was tugged away from her mom. Her teddy bear still clutched tightly in her arms.

Spencer and J.J. both jumped to their feet in anger. They shouted at Terry who aimed his gun at them.

"Sit down!" Terry yelled back at them.

"Take me. Let her go and take me," Spencer said stepping forward.

"I said sit down!" Terry shouted.

"I can't do that. I can't let you hurt that girl. Nothing will be gained out of killing her. You want attention, shoot an FBI agent. That will get you attention," Spencer said.

"Spence, no," J.J. protested behind him.

"Let's say we win and you're arrested. You kill an FBI agent, you are a hero in prison. You kill a child, and you won't make it an hour in there," Spencer said as he continued to move forward.

"You won't catch me, so your scenario is pointless," Terry said.

"You may be right, but based on the fact that I've figured out who you are and what your real intentions are, I imagine my team has figured out the same and is working on a solution as we speak," Spencer said cooly.

The man laughed skeptically. "Sure," he scoffed.

"It's fine if you don't believe me, but just know we are damn good at what we do, Terry," Spencer said making Terry go stiff.

(xxxxx)

Rossi had spread the word to begin evacuating the area. After much digging around, it was discovered that underneath the bathroom of the bank, was a 10-mile-long stretch of gas pipes for the city. Derek and a team of bomb squad specialists went to work searching for the bomb they believed was planted.

Among the buildings that would be affected by this explosion were schools, hospitals, and world financial buildings. There would be no way to get everyone safely evacuated without spreading panic. It left everyone in a bind of morals.

"Someone in that bank has to be a part of all of this. There's no way that someone could have created access to those pipes without someone noticing," Luke said as he looked over the list of workers.

"It would need to be after hours. Is there any record of who would have accessed the office during what times?" Emily asked Penelope.

The sound of rapid clicking was heard as Penelope began her search.

"According to the alarm deactivation, codes 1034 and 1109 were used frequently. Let me see if I can get in a bit further to see who those codes were registered to," she said as she continued to click.

"Does anyone notice the significance of that code?" Luke said suddenly. Emily and Penelope looked at him. "1109, 09 – 11, September 11. Whoever this is has been planning this a long time."

"I got it, I got it!" Penelope said excitedly. "It's Anya Belka. She is one of the assistant branch managers. According to her private Facebook page, she is quite hostile towards America, which is baffling since she lives here.

Oh, ok … I see … well, her father and mother were killed by a bomb supposedly associated with an American. When she was 14, she moved here with a cousin who basically sold her to others for money. He was arrested and she was placed in foster care until she was old enough to be on her own.

She seemed to be a model citizen, but it's clear she just had patience. She had been planning to wage a war on our homeland for many years. This chick is a ticking time bomb, no pun intended," Penelope explained.

"We need to find her. Is there an address for her?" Luke asked.

"No, need for an address. That's her right there," Penelope said pointing to one of the hostages.

Just as they looked at the screen, they saw Terry grab a child. Penelope gasped as Emily and Luke became riveted to the screen. They saw J.J. and Spencer jump forward. Spencer was clearly talking to Terry. Spencer lifted his hands and kept walking toward Terry.

"No, Spencer, no," Emily whispered as her heart pounded.

(xxxxx)

"Who told you that?" Terry snapped, the gun pressed firmly against the trembling girl's temple.

"I told you, we are good at what we do," Spencer said, not revealing how he'd acquired the information.

Terry looked around with sudden fear in his eyes.

"Someone told," Terry said again. He turned his gun on Turk. "Was it you?"

"What the fuck are you talking about? Of course, it wasn't me? You think I want to fucking go to jail?" Turk lied.

"Then it was you," he spun the gun on his brother, Sam. "You did it!"

"I've been over here the entire time. How could I tell them?" Sam snapped.

Terry seemed to be at a battle. He was getting flustered.

"Please, just let her go. You and I can talk about this. I can help," Spencer said as he walked forward.

Suddenly the sound of gunfire rang out. Six loud shots filled the air. Turk fell over into a pile of his own blood, leaving Sam screaming for his brother. Spencer and J.J. turned their attention to the assistant bank manager who was now standing up with a smoking gun in her hand.

"If you want things done right, you have to do it yourself," she said as she stormed over to Terry.

"I had everything under control," Terry whined.

"Clearly. Your own man snitched you out," she said snidely.

Sam stood over his brother's body sobbing. "Why did you do that? Why did you shoot him?"

"Oh shut up," Anya said rolling her eyes before she shot Sam in the back of the head.

"What the fuck?" Terry said still clutching the child.

"He was more useless than his brother. Now let the damn kid go," she said.

"What?" Terry gaped.

"Let. Her. Go," she repeated with her jaw clenched shut.

Terry let go of the girl, who ran straight to her wounded mom. Anya turned to Spencer and walked over to him.

"So, big FBI man, you know what we are up to?" she asked with her eye brow raised.

"Based on what I know, I have my suspicions," he replied.

"Ok, for shits and giggles, lets' hear those suspicions," Anya laughed.

"You plan to blow this place up, but that's not enough for you. While your friend here thinks this is all about power and money, you never told him your real goal is to start the next 9-11. You plan to bomb half the city. This is a suicide mission for you," Spencer said calmly.

Anya stared him down without an ounce of acknowledgment, while Terry's eyes had grown larger and he looked at her.

"Is that true?" he asked. Anya looked at him. "Everything you told me was a lie, wasn't it? We weren't going to be together on an island with all the money we'd ever need."

"Don't look so sad, darling. At least you'll die a hero," she said to him.

"No, you won't die a hero Terry. You will die a coward. A hated, disgusted coward," Spencer said. She used you for her own selfish game."

Anya let out a loud annoyed sigh.

"It doesn't matter anymore if he's in on this or not. So, you can stop trying to convince him to turn on me. In fact," she turned and shot Terry in the head. "He's useless to me anyway."

"You won't get away with this. I promise you my team will stop you," Spencer growled.

"So confident for someone who's about to become a human s'more," Anya laughed.

"You can kill me right now. It won't change the fact that my team will find the bomb, that the bomb squad will defuse it, and you will spend the rest of your life rotting in jail," Spencer said angrily.

"Well, I can at least agree with one of those things you just listed."

With that she lifted her gun and the sound of a gunshot exploded into the air.


	41. Chapter 41

_(xxxxx)_

Spencer stood staring at the lifeless body of Anya Belka. Blood seeped from her back and head where she'd been shot. Standing only a few feet away stood one of the hostages. His hands were shaking as he stood frozen with the gun still aimed at Anya.

J.J. walked over to the man and placed her hand on his shoulders and lowered his arms. He looked at her with tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I just saw the gun from that man and I had to do something," he said with a shaky voice.

"It's ok. Relax and give me the gun," J.J. said softly.

The man nodded and handed her the gun. She took it, put the safety on, and put it in her belt.

"I want everyone to carefully make your way out of the building," J.J. said as the hostages began hurrying to the door.

Spencer made his way over to the young girl and her mom.

"Ma'am, do you think you can walk?" Spencer asked as he looked at the injury.

"I don't think so. I can't feel my toes," she said with panic in her eyes.

Spencer nodded and scooped her into his arms, while J.J. lifted the little girl into her arms. As they stepped outside, a team of emergency responders surrounded them. Spencer turned around just in time to be plowed by Emily.

Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as she sobbed into it. He held her in his arms as his one hand gripped her hair and pressed her as close to his body as possible.

"I hate you, Spencer Reid. I hate you so much," Emily said as she continued to cry.

"I know, I'm sorry," he said as tears filled his eyes.

They stood there for an unknown amount of time, holding one another and thanking God that for the moment they were together safe and sound.

(xxxxx)

The bombs had been found and defused. The day had been long and terrifying. It was well past midnight before Spencer and Emily arrived back home. Kate was happy to find them both uninjured and safe. After saying their goodbyes and thank yous, they both took some time to stare at their sleeping twins before calling it a night.

Emily climbed into bed and felt her body beginning to fade immediately. Spencer had already been laying there for a bit. She thought he was asleep, but she heard him stir.

"Trouble sleeping?" she asked before yawning.

He rolled over to face her. She could see the distress in his eyes. She scooted closer and placed a hand to his cheek.

"It's ok, we are safe now," she said.

"Yea, now. But this is going to happen again, Em. There is always going to be another case and another close call," he said.

"Yes, just like it's always been," she said furrowing her brow at him. "This is nothing new."

"I know that, but things have changed and it matters now. Those risks matter," he said.

"Ok, so what are you saying?" she said, despite having an idea in mind.

"I don't think I want to do this anymore," he said.

Emily nodded her understanding, but didn't say anything.

"I didn't think I was going to make it out of there. All I kept thinking was how my kids were going to grow up without a dad. Just like I did. I was letting them down. Letting you down. I had chosen to put my life at risk when you guys need me. I was being selfish," he said as tears filled his eyes.

"First of all, stop that talk right now. You did not let anyone down or choose anything over your family. You were doing your job and you were trying to save lives. So, don't you dare belittle that with such talk. Your children are going to be incredible proud of you, just like I am," she said forcefully.

"Second?" he asked with a small smile on his face.

"If you want to resign I stand behind you. But do it because you want to, not because you feel like you are letting us down," she said.

Spencer sighed. "I don't know what to do," he said frowning.

"Then don't decide now. Think about it. Sleep on it. When you are positive, then make the decision. Do not force yourself to have all the answers tonight. Right now, just close your eyes and get some rest," she said pulling him into her arms.

"How did I get so lucky to have you?" he asked as he pressed his head against her chest.

She kissed the top of his head and held him tight. They both fell asleep clinging to one another.

(xxxxx)

3 weeks later, the team was gathered into the conference room for a meeting. Everyone settled in as Rossi stood at the head of the table with Emily.

"Before we get to business today, I'd like to start by handing the baton back over to our Unit Chief," he said gesturing to her as the team clapped. "We are glad to have you officially back in the saddle and I am glad to not have to write all that paperwork again."

Emily laughed before giving Rossi a hug. She turned her attention to the others.

"It's good to be back full time again. I missed you guys. I do have a bit of news to start us off with," she looked over at Spencer, who nodded. "After a lot of thought and a lot of debating, Spencer has decided to retire from the FBI."

The room filled with audible gasps. J.J.'s jaw dropped and Penelope's eyes filled with tears. Derek and Luke looked at each other in stunned silence. Spencer seemed to shrink with guilt.

"Boy wonder, what will we do without you?" Penelope said softly.

"I'm only a call away. If you guys need help with anything, I can do research at home," he said. "This was not an easy decision for me. It's just … things are different now and I want to see my kids grow up. I want to be there for them and I can't with this job. I've also tempted fate too many times and one of those times I'm going to lose. I can't do that to my family."

His eyes watered as he agonized over his decision.

"Kid, it won't be the same without you, but you know we support you 100%," Rossi said getting up to hug him.

"We know how hard this is for you and I admire you for that," Luke said joining the line to hug him.

"I'll miss seeing you every day, but we'll see each other often. Henry and Michael will see to that," J.J. said as tears streamed from her eyes.

Spencer laughed as he cried and held her tightly in his arms.

"You better not be a stranger, Pretty Boy," Derek said hugging him.

"I won't," Spencer sniffled.

Last was Emily, who wrapped her arm around his waist and snuggled into his shoulder. Spencer wiped at his eyes before placing a kiss to the top of her head.

"It's only the ending of a chapter, but the beginning to another," Emily said.

Spencer nodded and held her tighter. She was right. It hurt to say goodbye to the only home he had ever truly known. But now, he was a part of a new home and he was excited for the adventures that it was promising to bring.

 _(xxxxx)_

 _I'd like to thank all of my supporters and readers! I am so grateful for your comments and for reading my stories! A HUGE thank you to ahowell1993 (happy birthday btw), tannerose5, ethanjakelexi, zhangxinna for all of your kind words!_


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